Skyrim Book IV: Elain
by gypsybee09
Summary: Elain, an Altmer archer with a dark side, fled to Skyrim with her siblings to escape the Thalmor. Separated from her family and not knowing where to look for them, she finds herself in a snow-covered city, surrounded by racists and embroiled in a murder spree. Follow her as she searches for her sisters and brother and a place to belong.
1. Destruction

Part I: Last Seed

Chapter One: Destruction (Tirdas, 19th of Last Seed; Middas, 20th of Last Seed)

Backtracking to Bruma had taken her almost two full days. It was time she wasn't happy to waste, but she hadn't known what else to do. She had no idea where her siblings had disappeared to, and she'd honestly hoped when they had been separated in the skirmish, they had backtracked as well. That didn't seem to be the case, however, as she sat alone at the inn, munching on some cooked beef and baked potatoes that she rinsed down with a bottle of spiced wine.

She worried about them. What would they do? She had all of their coin in her possession. If they made it to civilization, how would they secure shelter? She knew Nesta, and maybe even Aerenwen and Mari, could use their skills to hunt for food. But what of the other two?

She'd secured herself passage in a traveling caravan to the Skyrim city of Helgen the following day. Once there, she'd do whatever she could to find her brother and sisters, even if she had to hire mercenaries to do it.

* * *

She couldn't believe her eyes. The town of Helgen lay in utter destruction. The smoke could be seen rising for miles, and many in the caravan had wondered what they were heading toward. No one imagined, however, the entire town would be in ruins as the result of a dragon attack.

The disaster had happened two days before, and the clean up had commenced.

From what she overheard, it sounded like the town would basically be abandoned, but for now, people searched the rubble.

Priests of Arkay and their hired help dug through collapsed buildings, pulling out bodies to give those who lost their lives in the tragedy proper burial rites. Imperial soldiers sifted through the remains of the fort that had been there, hoping for survivors and, most likely, important documents and the like that had been housed there. A few Thalmor emissaries looked on from horseback, and the Altmer woman had immediately made herself scarce, finding a seat on a nearby boulder to watch the others work and hopefully avoid the Thalmor's detection.

She wasn't sure where to go now. The caravan she had traveled with was splitting in two. Some were traveling west to Falkreath, others east to Riften. Helgen had seemed like a good place to start looking for her siblings, the closest settlement in proximity to where they had been separated, but now she didn't know where to start.

A man wearing a hood and sticking to the shadows of the nearby forest had been watching her. It was beginning to make her uneasy, but eventually, he approached her, obviously also attempting to avoid detection from someone.

"I lost some good comrades in this mess," the man commented as he sat on a rock slightly behind her, facing away from the ruined town. "It was horrid. I was here. Sometimes I ask myself why I survived when others lost their lives."

She nodded, understanding his thinking. She'd wondered the same of her family. She didn't know if they were dead, but she didn't know if they were alive either, and if they weren't, why was she?

"Did you lose anyone here?" the stranger asked.

"I'm not sure, honestly," she replied. "I was traveling with my siblings. We were separated a few days ago. I've only just arrived here, but if any of them were ahead of me, they could have been here for this."

The man turned to her then, revealing his face hidden beneath his hood for the first time. He was obviously a Nord, large and muscular with blonde hair and a full beard. "Was one of them a bit quiet, more on the serious side, with almost red hair?"

Her golden eyes nodded, and she turned to face the man more fully. "Yes! That sounds like Aerenwen!"

"Aerenwen, yes," the man replied with a nod. "That was her name. I couldn't remember."

"So she was here? You met her?"

"Aye," he paused a moment and glanced around them, making sure no one else was within hearing distance. "I suppose if you're her sister, I can tell you who I am. My name is Ralof. I'm a soldier with the Stormcloak army. The Imperials call us rebels."

She nodded, having heard a bit about the civil war in Skyrim from her fellow travelers on the caravan.

"We were ambushed by the Imperial army about a day's ride south of here, just across the border," he continued. She realized that was the fighting she had seen and avoided the night she and her siblings were split up. "I was captured, along with our leader and several other good men and women, including your sister."

"Aerenwen was captured?" she asked, shocked. "Why?"

"A case of mistaken identity," he answered with a shrug. "She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and General Tulius was so pleased with himself for having outsmarted Ulfric Stormcloak for once that he didn't much care who he took down alongside him."

"What happened?"

"We were brought here by carriage to be executed," Ralof replied. "One of my comrades, Joric, was beheaded. Your sister was set to go next. That's when the dragon struck. In the confusion we were able to escape. I helped your sister, and we sought shelter in one of the wall's towers. The plan was to head up to the top of the wall and climb down the other side, but the dragon knocked the wall in and obstructed our path. I lost some more friends in the rubble then, and I told Aerenwen to go on ahead of us while I checked to see if Jarl Ulfric was still alive. The next time I saw her, she was heading into the keep with an Imperial soldier and a small child. I offered for her to come with us, but she chose to go with Hadvar instead."

The woman sighed. "So you don't know if she's alive or not?"

The man shook his head. "I suspect she is, though. Hadvar and I may be on opposite sides of this war, but we grew up together. He's a good and honorable Nord. If there was a way out of that keep, he'd make sure your sister and that boy got out even if he lost his own life in the process."

That made her feel better.

"What's your name, elf?" Ralof asked.

"Elain," she answered, extending her hand to meet his in a handshake.

"Aerenwen was worried about you all, you know," he told her. "Even riding in a wagon with a knot on her head and her hands bound, heading for a wrongful execution, she was more concerned with what had happened to the rest of you."

Elain chuckled. "That sounds like Aerenwen. She was our warrior. She watched over us all."

"She was kind to me, made me think twice about the animosity my kind tends to have toward yours because of the Thalmor," Ralof continued. "She was my friend for a time, and that's why I approached you. You resemble her enough, I thought you might be one of the ones she was looking for, and you looked a little lost like she did when she woke up in the back of that wagon."

"Thank you," Elain replied. "At least I know where one of them ended up for a time and that she had a fighting chance." She was quiet for a moment, looking around at the vast wilderness around her - a snow-covered coniferous forest, high mountain peaks - the landscape was foreign to her. "Do you have any idea where they might have gone? If she and this Hadvar survived, do you know where he would have taken her?"

"Not really," Ralof answered after some thought, "but Hadvar was an Imperial soldier. His sense of duty would have had him wanting to check in with his superiors as soon as possible to tell them what happened here, and they're headquarters are in Solitude. My guess is he would have headed there, and I suppose your sister could have gone with him, not knowing where else to go."

Elain nodded. "How far is Solitude?"

"Quite a ways. It's to the north, on the opposite end of Skyrim. A good two days travel on horseback. Longer on foot."

Elain sighed.

"Look, those of us that survived Helgen have been camped out in one of our army's camps nearby, waiting for the Imperials and Thalmor to thin out before we traveled anywhere. We'll be heading back to our headquarters in the city of Windhelm soon. Why don't you come with us?" Ralof offered. "Your sister won't be there, but my Jarl has connections throughout Skyrim. Perhaps we can help you find them all, and at the least, I can help you get your feet on the ground."

"Thank you, Ralof," she replied with a smile. "That's very kind."

Elain still didn't have all the answers she was looking for, but at least now she had a plan. Everything started with a plan.

 **Author's Note: And here is the start of Elain's story. If you haven't read the stories of her three sisters (Aerenwen, Mari, and Nesta), the first parts of each have been posted and can be found on my profile. The stories need not be read in any particular order, nor is it absolutely necessary you read them all, but they will eventually crossover when the siblings find each other again. This part of Elain's story will have several chapters and will follow her through the month of Last Seed, then we will move on to the last two siblings.**


	2. Windhelm

Chapter Two: Windhelm (Fridas, 22nd of Last Seed)

The city of Windhelm was ancient. It sat atop a hill on the edge of the White River and was only accessible via a wide stone bridge crossing that river. The city was located within thick stone walls at the base of a mountain. The Jarl's palace, known as the Palace of Kings and once the seat of Skyrim's High King, sat at the highest point of the city.

Though she was sure the ancient architecture was both beautiful and interesting, Elain hadn't spent much time outside to find out. It was absolutely frigid. Without a doubt, it was the coldest place the Altmer had ever visited. Snow covered the ground year round, and because of its proximity to the sea, a coastal wind almost always blew, leading to blinding blizzard-like conditions quite frequently. Elain had only been in the city for a few hours, but she already couldn't really imagine why anyone, even the hardy Nords would didn't seem to mind the cold, would make their home there.

Not only was the weather less than pleasant, but the majority of the people weren't either. It had taken them a day and a half to travel from Helgen to Windhelm. They'd left the morning after she met Ralof, traveled through the day, then spent a night in Riften before striking out once more, arriving in the frigid ancient city around noon on the second day. For most of the trip she'd heard how the Stormcloaks were fighting for a better Skyrim free of Imperials forcing their rules and restrictions on their way of life, but Elain had the common sense to realize that all stories had two sides, and she imagined the Imperials had some good points as well. From what she had seen of him, Ulfric Stormcloak was nothing but a self-involved racist. He'd been nothing but rude to Elain since she'd joined their party, and his disparaging comments about the Empire usually involved something about their "filfthy elven overlords". She knew as well as anyone how awful the Thalmor could be, but attributing that to all the Altmer was an over-generalization and simply not fair.

Why, his racism was even evident in the manner in which he ruled his city. Windhelm seemed to have a high population of Dunmer, called Dark Elves because of their gray tinted skin. Apparently, from what Elain had been told during her short time in the city, when many Dunmer fled their home province of Morrowind after a volcanic eruption devestated the land, they settled in and around Windhelm because it was the first city in Skyrim they came to. However, they were discriminated against greatly. Elain had already seen three different occasions in which a Nord was either outright cruel to a Dunmer or refused to do business with them, and they weren't allowed to live anywhere in the city except a district called the Gray Quarter, the lowest point in the city and basically a slum. Not to mention the Argonians, lizard-men native to Black Marsh, worked as merchants at the city's docks, making sure the goods received got off the ships for the citizens use but weren't even allowed inside the walls. They made their homes in tents and lean-tos right out on the docks.

Elain was appalled by all this. Although it was true that Altmer were called High Elves not only because they were the tallest race of elves in Tamriel but also because so many of them thought so highly of themselves, she and her siblings hadn't been raised to think like that. Her parents were more open-minded than most and believed that all races had their strengths and weaknesses, and no land would achieve true happiness and success until everyone learned to work together and live together in peace. She had thought, despite the Thalmor rule, that was a mindset that was growing because just within the last few decades, outsiders were allowed to visit and settle in the Summerset Isles for the first time in generations. But apparently the small-minded belief that some races were better than others was not a concept native to the mighty Thalmor, and Ulfric was doing his best to spread his own version of that hatred amongst his people.

Ralof had shown Elain the city's inn upon their arrival. It wasn't hard to miss, a huge stone building located directly inside the city gate. Candlehearth Hall, as it was called, was run by a Nord woman by the name of Elda Early-Dawn. She served all races at the inn and tavern, but she wasn't exactly polite to some. Elain had rented a room for a full week, but she truly hoped she wouldn't have to stay in the city for that long.

Ralof had hinted incessantly about spending her first night in the city with her. The elf's loneliness had caused her to allow Ralof to warm the furs in her bed at the inn in Riften. He was an attractive man and extremely kind-hearted, but the night they'd spent together had been rather unexciting for Elain who had numerous adventures in the bedroom to compare it to. Though she would be willing to consider the man a friend, she had no interest in more than that nor was she willing to allow him a repeat of the performance.

Not everyone in Windhelm was horrible. While sitting by the fire in the upstairs of the inn that evening, she made a few acquaintances. A retired warrior named Brunwulf Free-Winter bought her a drink to welcomed her to the city. He was an advocate for the rights of the Dunmer. The inn's waitress, Susanna, seemed kind to everyone no matter their race, although Elain suspected the woman might do some business on the side delivering services other than food and drink to her patrons. And an Imperial author by the name of Adonato Leotelli was staying at the inn while he did research in the city for his most recent work of historical fiction, and Elain found him to be a fascinating conversationalist.

All in all, she couldn't complain. While Windhelm may not have been a place she could see herself settling down in, Candlehearth Hall was warm, the food was good, and she had air in her lungs. Sending up prayers that her siblings could say the same, she felt, if they could, they were all pretty lucky.


	3. Blood on the Ice

Chapter Three: Blood on the Ice (Loredas, 23rd of Last Seed)

Elain started her day eating breakfast at the main counter of Candlehearth Hall.

"Nils, have you seen Susanna this morning?" Elda asked when the cook delivered the Altmer her food rather than the waitress.

"Nope," he replied. "She was here when I retired last night, but I haven't seen her since I woke up."

"That's odd," Elda muttered. "I hope she's alright."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Elain asked.

Elda looked around like she was about to spill some juicy gossip to the Altmer. "There's been some murders in Windhelm over the last few weeks," the innkeeper explained. "All young women, all killed during the night and cut up something awful. A few folks have taken to calling the killer 'The Butcher', but whatever you call him, these streets aren't safe at night for women right now."

"Do the guards have any leads?"

Elda shrugged. "Not that I've heard. According to Viola Giordano, they aren't doing their job, but I know the city guard is spread pretty thin what with the war and all."

Elain left the inn, wrapping herself in the fur cloak Ralof had given her. He'd laughed and said she'd need it more than he would because elf blood wasn't as thick as Nord's. She believed it. The sight of the local Nords walking around in the frigid temperatures with barely more on than their usual clothes was shocking to her.

"Welcome to Windhelm, stranger," a friendly voice greeted. "Just passing through or are you planning to stay in our fine city for a time?"

She looked up to see a man with unusually dark hair for a Nord dressed in fine clothes and smiling at her. "Um, I think I'm just passing through," she replied, surprised to be greeted so friendly after all the rude people she'd met since arriving the day before.

"Well, welcome, even if its just for a short time," he said. "I am Captain Lonely-Gale, Thane of Windhelm. If there's anything I can do to make your stay in our fine city better, please let me know."

"Captain?" Elain asked. "Are you a sailor?"

"No, not anymore," the man replied. "I retired about a year ago and settled here, but I was a sailor for many years. I made my coin as a trader and owned my own ship. I did a lot of business here at the docks and got to know the city and its people quite well. When I retired, I was granted the title of Thane and given property in the city. The people are just so used to calling me 'Captain', they've never stopped."

"I see," Elain replied. "What is there to do in this city, anyway?"

"Well, I see you've already found our Candlehearth Hall," he said with a nod toward the building behind her. "If you're looking to pass the time, you can always give Calixto a few septims and see what curiosities he's dug up recently. He's set his home up as a museum of sorts. The marketplace has a few booths selling goods, and we have an alchemist's shop. There's also a general merchandiser and a bar in the Gray Quarter. Honestly, the bar, The Gnisis Cornerclub, serves a much better drink than Candlehearth Hall, but don't say you heard that from me. It's not exactly the place where the city's most prominent citizens like to be seen."

"I heard there's been some murders lately."

The captain frowned. "Yes, terrible business that. Such a shame. There have been three victims that I am aware of thus far. The first was about a month ago, the second last week, and the third just last night. There could be more we just haven't discovered yet. And some believe the Cruel-Sea's daughter might have been a victim as well. She was murdered two weeks past but because she was robbed as well, her death was attributed to bandits. Some believe the robbery was just a coincidence because many of the other aspects of the crime scene are similar to the other girls. They were all young women, too. Their whole lives ahead of them. Such a tragic loss for our community. Here's hoping the guards find the vile demon soon and introduce him to the headsman's axe."

Elain agreed. "Where did the murder last night take place?" she asked.

"Down in the burial yard outside the Hall of the Dead," he replied. "I just passed the crime scene myself, that's how I know about it already. I didn't venture close enough to see who the victim was, but there was a guard investigating and a few onlookers."

"How do I get there?"

The captain pointed in the direction of the crime scene, and Elain bid him farewell and headed toward it. Sure enough, lying on a stone coffin was a dead body, stripped of clothing with several odd incisions over her body. Elain walked around to the other side and saw the face, recognizable even covered in blood. It was Susanna, the waitress at the inn whom she had found to be so kind the night before.

Intrigued by the murders to begin with (she'd always had an odd fascination with death), now she found herself wanting to be of help. After all, Susanna was one of the few people she had encountered in the city thus far that she actually liked. If the guards really were as short handed as the innkeeper claimed, perhaps they would appreciate some assistance.

She stood amongst the onlookers for a moment. "Did any of you see anything?"

The priestess of Arkay simply shook her head as she examined the body. "Her coin purse was still intact, and her clothes are here on the ground, so nothing appears to have been stolen."

Not a theft.

A finely dressed man who introduced himself as Calixto Corrium claimed to have caught a glimpse of the killer. "I often go for early morning walks before I open my museum for the day. When I came around that corner there," he pointed across the courtyard, "I saw a fellow running away, but I didn't get a good look at him."

Most likely a man.

The only other person present was a homeless beggar named Silma. She was elderly and looked cold and hungry. She had been warming herself on the lit brazier outside Candlehearth Hall when she heard a woman scream. She had arrived on the scene after Calixto was already there.

Calixto was first on the scene.

Elain approached the guard who spoke to her. "Halt, citizen! This area is closed to the public while we investigate a crime scene."

"Does it appear to be the same killer as the others?" she asked.

The guard nodded. "From what we can tell, yes."

"Are you all having any luck in your investigation?"

The guard chuckled dryly. "We'd be having luck if we were allowed to spend more time on it. We're basically tasked with cleaning up the scene and gathering evidence then told to leave it be. We're spread too thin with the war, and whenever Jorleif tries to assign more manpower to investigating the murders, Ulfric puts a stop to it."

"Could I help?" Elain asked. "I only just arrived in town yesterday, and while I don't know the city very well, if I'm to be here for a while, I'd rather not worry about being murdered if I have to walk the streets at night."

"I don't blame you. My own sister lives here in the city, and I've told her she's to stay home after dark whether she likes it or not," the guard replied. "The streets just aren't safe for young women right now. I don't have the authority to tell you to go digging around, but if you talk with Jorleif at the Jarl's palace, and he gives you permission, I, for one, would be happy to see someone looking further into this."

Elain thanked him for the information and made her way through the labyrinth of a city toward the Palace of the Kings. Upon arriving, a guard pointed her in the direction of a man named Jorleif when she asked.

Jorleif was a tall but uncommonly thin Nord with a long moustache and fine fur clothes. Elain introduced herself, and he welcomed her to the city, stating he was the steward and could help with any business she may have.

"Actually, I was curious about these murders," Elain stated. "I know there was one last night, and the scene hasn't been cleaned up yet. I spoke with the guard, and he said you were short handed and unable to commit fully to the investigation because of the war. I was wondering if I could be of help."

"Hmmm," Jorleif replied, deep in thought. "I'm not sure. You're an outsider, but it certainly would be good to have our streets safe again and put the monster responsible for this behind bars. It's hard to keep the people's morale high in regards to the war when they also feel unsafe in their own city. I suppose if you promise to check in with me in regards to what you're discovering frequently, I can allow it. Perhaps someone with more distance from the people involved can have a more unbiased view as well." He jotted something down on a piece of paper, naming her Windhelm's Official Investigator, placed an official seal on it, and passed it to her. "Show this to the guard at the crime scene and anyone who is being uncooperative in your investigation."

"Thank you, sir," Elain replied.

Back at the crime scene, the guard was happy for her help and asked her to question the witnesses who had gathered. When she told him she already had, he seemed impressed by her intiative but unsurprised they hadn't seen anything helpful. "They never do," he stated. He then asked the witnesses to disperse and go about their business, so the priestess could properly take care of the body. He and another guard helped her carry the body inside the Hall of the Dead, and Elain explored the crime scene.

A trail of blood led out of the courtyard and up some stairs into what was obviously a wealthier area of the city. It ended at the locked door to a home. She decided to go see Jorleif to get the key and made a mental note that the blood trail had gone in the opposite direction that Calixto had claimed to have seen the man run off.

"Ah yes, that was the home of Friga Shatter-Shield," Jorleif told her. "Her father is a Thane of the hold, and she was set to marry one of Ulfric's generals. They're one of the more prominent families in the city, and unfortunately, she was the first victim we found last month. The house has been abandoned since her death, but I believe her mother, Tova, is still in possession of the key. They haven't been ready to sell it back to the city just yet although her husband-to-be cleaned out his possessions some time ago and has no interest of living there any longer."

Elain made her way back to the crime scene which was now empty and decided to question the priestess on whether or not she had discovered anything odd about the remains.

The Windhelm Hall of the Dead, much like the city itself, was dark, cold, and difficult to navigate. Elain finally found the priestess in a chamber where she had Susanna's body laid out for preparations.

Elain introduced herself and showed her the official paper the steward had given her.

"Ah, it looks like they're finally starting to take these murders seriously," the priestess replied. "About time. I am Helgird, priestess of Arkay. I've tended the Hall of the Dead here in Windhelm for years. I'm happy to be of whatever help I can be to you, dear."

"Have you noticed anything unusual about the body?"

"Well, she's dead," the priestess replied, "but I suppose that's not unusual for anyone who's here, aside from me of course." She paused, thinking over what she had said. "I'm sorry. That was meant to be a joke. I . . . I tend to spend more time around the dead than with the living. Some people say that's made me crazy."

"Not crazy," Elain replied with a smile. To herself she decided socially awkward was an apt description.

"Anyway, the only thing unusual I've noticed on Susanna was the same thing I noticed on the other victims, and that's the shape of the cuts," Helgird continued. "They look to be made with . . . well, the ancient Nords used these curved tools when they embalmed their dead." She walked over to an alter nearby and lifted up an old-looking embalming tool. "I'm not sure who would have one in their possession though truly they're not too hard to come by. Any old barrow or cairn in Skyrim probably has a few left behind, but any modern day servant of Arkay uses a less crude instrument for embalming," she motioned toward her own tools on a nearby table. "If I had to guess, I'd say our killer was using one of these old relics."

"Anything else?"

"Well, the other victims had bones and flesh removed," the priestess replied, "and I've gathered a large amount of blood was taken from each of the victims as well. This was also the case with Susanna, but she has also had tendons and ligaments removed from her joints. It seems to me, the killer is gathering body parts. Sounds like some twisted form of necromancy in my opinion. Now if you don't mind," the elderly priestess stated, "I need to get back to work. Lots to do to prepare this poor child for burial."

Elain thanked her for her assistance and eventually found her way back out of the burial chamber.

She found the marketplace and talked to the stall owners about the murders. No one seemed to know anything. There were three stalls total in the market. One was run by a Dunmer and sold fresh fish and game. Another was run by a woman whose family operated a farm outside the city. She turned out to be the mother of one of the murdered girls.

"They think because she was robbed, someone else killed my Fjotli," she explained, "but I spoke with the priestess, and she had the same sorts of cuts and parts missing as Friga Shatter-Shield. I think some thief with no morals stumbled across the body before anyone else and took advantage of an easy target. I hope you catch the monster responsible for these deaths."

The final stall was run by a fellow Altmer woman by the name of Niranye. In a way, it was nice to speak with someone from home, but on the other hand, Niranye's haughty demeanor reminded Elain of why her race had the reputation they did.

The local blacksmith's shop was beside the market, and Elain stopped by for the sake of sentimentality. Her father had been a blacksmith and the familiar sound of hammer striking metal sounded like home. Windhelm's blacksmith was an old Nord named Oengul War-Anvil. He spent most of Elain's time there talking about how his craftsmanship was just as good as some Eorlund Gray-Mane's, the other blacksmith just had the luck of working some magical forge. Oengul's apprentice was a young woman named Hermir. She was a sweet girl, obviously a hard worker, but Elain quickly noticed the godlike status she had given to Ulfric as the young woman gushed about him and his perfectness. It made Elain sick. She didn't care what any of these people said, from what she could tell, Ulfric Stormcloak wasn't a good man.

She returned to Candlehearth Hall for dinner, and news of Susanna's murder had reached the dead girl's friends and coworkers. Dinner and drinks were on the house in the barmaid's honor, and patrons gathered together to pay their respects and tell stories of the woman's life.

"At least her parents are long dead," one woman commented later. "To lose a child like that," she glanced at a woman sitting alone near the fire, and Elain followed her gaze. "Poor Tova will never be the same."

Elain stood and approached the woman, sitting quietly down in the chair beside her. "I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter, ma'am," she stated politely.

The woman looked up, surprised someone was talking to her. Most had tired of her grieving and just given up trying to make conversation with her. "I've been a bit out of sorts since she was taken from us," she said sadly. "No mother should have to bury their child. I'm not really sure what to do with myself anymore. I try to get on with my life and not think of her, but sometimes the simplest things will remind me. I just miss her so much." She blinked some tears away from her tired gray eyes.

Elain placed a comforting hand on the woman's arm. "I lost my parents recently. I know it isn't the same. You expect to have to bury your parents, but I understand your grief."

The woman smiled kindly, if sadly, at the friendly stranger and went back to staring at the fire.

"If you don't mind, ma'am, I have some questions about your daughter."

"I'm sorry," the older woman replied. "She was so dear to me. It's difficult for me to think about."

"I'm trying to find your daughter's murderer," Elain explained. "I was hoping you'd help."

"Well . . . all right," she answered hesitantly. "I'm not sure of what help I could be, but if it catches the monster behind this, than I will do what I can."

"Could I have the key to your daughter's house? I'd like to go in and have a look around."

"Really? I'm not sure what you think you will find there," Tova replied. "My husband Torbjorn was in to retrieve some things after her death, and her husband-to-be cleared out his own possessions. No one ever found anything, but I suppose you're free to have a look around." She reached into the small purse she carried and pulled out a key, passing it to Elain.

"How long ago was anyone in the house?"

"Several weeks ago," the older woman answered. "Friga was taken just over a month ago, and her father took what we wanted of hers within the following week. Niels and his family cleared everything else out just a few days later. It's been empty for at least three weeks now."

Three weeks would correlate with the other murders. It was possible, with Friga being the first victim, as soon as the killer knew the home was empty, he set it up as his base of operations. Fjatla, obviously Susanna, and the third victim who Elain only knew as Isabelle and that she wasn't a native of Windhelm, were all killed within the last three weeks. She expected to find some clues tying this 'butcher' to all of them inside Friga's home, but she would wait until daylight to investigate.


	4. Necromancy

Chapter Four: Necromancy (Sundas, 24th of Last Seed)

At first inspection, the abandoned house looked just that, abandoned. The few pots and pans left in the kitchen were full of rodent feces, and cobwebs filled all the corners. The few pieces of furniture that had been left behind were piled up and dust-covered. However, a chest in the main room of the house almost immediately caught Elain's attention because of the blood smeared across the top.

After picking the lock, something she wasn't quite as talented at as her sister Nesta but still fairly proficient, she found a journal inside. Reading the journal was disturbing. It obviously belonged to this 'Butcher'. It went into great detail about targeting Susanna and a missed opportunity for killing her. He was interested in the tendons and ligaments in the woman's strong-looking joints, having already found good sources of bones and flesh.

By the gods, this monster wasn't just killing them but harvesting them. Was this some sort of necromantic ritual?

On a stand in the back of the room, Elain found several copies of a flier a concerned citizen had been hanging around the city. She had heard of Viola Giordana, who most felt was a busybody, and had seen these fliers plastered around. She'd also heard the woman complain at Candlehearth Hall that the guards were removing her posters, but it appeared the killer himself was collecting them as some sort of memento. Also on the stand was an unusual amulet, the likes of which Elain had never seen.

Two wardrobes had been left behind. The first was empty, as was the second, but she noticed when opening it, the second one seemed to be bolted to the wall. Finding this odd, she investigated around the outside and inside of the wardrobe, realizing the back panel was false and opened like a hidden door.

On the other side of that door was the scene from a nightmare.

Blood was splattered throughout the room. On a table were various bones and other body parts, and candles and different magical elements definitely hinted at magicka of some sort. Also on the table was a second journal. This one contained a sort of recipe consiting of various body parts and what Elain assumed was a spell or magical chant.

Her instincts told her she was dealing with a necromancer, but she didn't have much experience with such things. Never having been terribly interested in her mother's magical artistry anyway, she knew little about the more well-accepted schools of magic, let alone the taboo school of necromancy that many people, her mother included, shunned.

Pocketing the journals, amulet, and one of the fliers, Elain did her best to make it look like she hadn't otherwise been there, not wanting to alert the murderer to the fact that someone was on his trail.

She left the house and quickly made her way to the palace to update Jorleif.

The steward was equally disturbed by her findings and suggested she speak to Calixto about the amulet.

"That man is a font of useless knowledge," he told her. "Inherited a big sum of money and traveled Tamriel collecting all sorts of rare and useless items. If anyone can tell you what that old amulet is, it would be him."

Calixto was quite welcoming when Elain entered his home and immediately offered a tour of his 'museum' for five septims. She decided it didn't hurt to have a look around, so she pulled out the septims and listened to his well-rehearsed spiel. He had all sorts of magical ingredients, soul gems, rare antiques (including, she noted, the ancient Nord embalming tools Helgird felt were being used for the murders), and a few notable artifacts that actually did perk Elain's interest.

"How did you manage to put togeter such a collection?" Elain asked when her host was finished.

"Ah, well, Lucilla and I, that's my late sister," Calixto replied, "we inherited quite a fortune when our parents died. We traveled all of Tamriel and put together this collection then settled here in Windhelm and decided to share it with the public. A few things I've added in more recent years, procuring them from various adventurers and the like who come through the city."

"I see," Elain answered. "And do you have any idea as to what this amulet may be? It's clear you're a bit of an expert on this sort of thing."

Calixto looked surprised to see the amulet and, perhaps, a bit on edge all of a sudden. "Ah, yes. Why that's a wheelstone amulet. They're generally carried by court mages. Where did you come across it?"

"I bought it off someone for 100 septims," Elain lied. "I collect amulets, but I wasn't certain what this one was for."

"Ah, well, I'd be happy to take it off your hands and give you back your 100 septims," the nervous man offered.

"No, thanks. I'd like to keep it," Elain replied, tucking the amulet back into her satchel.

"Oh, it would make a lovely addition to my collection though," Calixto persuaded. "I'll give you 500 septims!"

Elain noted how odd it was for him to be so eager to get his hands on the amulet. Combined with his obvious nervousness since it's reveal, and the fact that the man he supposedly saw running from the crime scene was going in the opposite direction from which the killer actually left the blood trail, had Elain wondering if there was more to this man than just an eccentric collector.

"I'll keep your offer in mind, but I'm not ready to part with it just yet," she told him, making her way toward the door. "Thank you for the information. And great collection, by the way."

Elain decided the next person she would talk to was the court mage. He would be able to confirm whether or not this amulet really was what Calixto said it was, and if it wasn't, Calixto would go from becoming merely a person of interest in her mind to the primary suspect. On her way toward the palace, however, she ran into Viola Giordano.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping the woman in the street. "You're Viola, right?"

"I am," the woman replied suspiciously.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I've been named official investigator to the murders taking place here in Windhelm," Elain explained. "You're the one that made this flier, yes?"

"I am, indeed," Viola replied proudly. "Official investigator, hmm? It's nice to see the Jarl finally taking an interest in the safety of his citizens. The completely lacksadaisacle manner in which this horrible series events has been handled is absolutely apalling! Women are walking the streets in fear! I could be the next victim. And yet it seems I've been the only one with any interest in investigating."

"Have you found anything in your investigations?" Elain asked.

"I'm afraid not," she answered with a frown. "I hope you're having more luck."

"I've discovered the killers hideout and his journals," Elain replied. "It sounds like he may be performing some sort of necromantic ritual. Do you know of anyone in the city with interests in dark arts?"

"Hmmm, not really, no," Viola replied. "Although there have always been rumors about the court mage. He has an arrangement with Hillevi Cruel-Sea to grow some very poisonous plants on her farm for him. He's an odd fellow. If I could guess at anyone in the city being a necromancer, I'd start with him."

Elain thanked her for the information and continued toward the palace, still intent upon meeting with the mage. Rumors were just that, rumors, and at this time, he was her next lead rather than a suspect.

* * *

Wuunferth was an elderly Nord who Elain found tucked away in his quarters on the second floor of the Palace of the Kings, bent over his alchemist table. He greeted her amiably, and Elain got right to business.

"Is it true that you dabble in necromancy?"

"Necromany?!" the wizard answered, completely appalled at the accusation. "That is absurd! I am a member of the College of Winterhold, in good standing! They haven't allowed necromancy in over a hundred years."

"Forgive me, I'd only heard rumors and wanted to clarify," Elain stated apologetically. "Calixto told me this amulet was a wheelstone. I was wondering if, perhaps, it was yours."

Wuunferth looked at the amulet and frowned. "Calixto is clearly not the expert he claims to be," he commented. "He and his books often get confused on such things. I can tell you exactly what this. I suspect that worn part there was once a skull, and from what I know, I would say you are holding the legendary Necromancer's Amulet. Wherever did you find this?"

"In the killer's lair," Elain replied.

"So necromancy is at the heart of these murders," Wuunferth replied. "I've been investigating these atrocities as well, and I've detected a pattern in the killings. I suspect the next will happen within the next two nights, and they always seem to happen in the Stone Quarter."

"Can you tell me more about this amulet?" Elain asked.

"It is told it was created by Mannimarco, the King of Worms," Wuunferth replied. "It acts as armor to whomever wears it and strengthens their skills in conjuration magicka, especially that of necromancy. It disappears from time to time. Mysteriously lost by its owner and then reappears nowhere near where it could've been lost. The last documented possessor of the amulet was Arch-Mage Hannibal Traven of the Mage's Guild. He was strictly opposed to the necromantic arts, and the amulet was kept at the Arcane University in the Imperial City to keep it out of the hands of evil-doers. How our killer ended up with it, I can only guess, but as I said, it has a way of disappearing and reappearing where it will be used."

"So, the Stone Quarter?" Elain confirmed.

"Yes, tonight. If not tonight, than tomorrow certainly, but the pattern I have detected would have the next killing happening soon."

"Thank you for your assistance."

"Of course, my dear. If there's anymore I can do, please let me know. We need to get this vile demon off the streets."


	5. Catch the Killer!

Chapter Five: Catch the Killer! (Morndas, 25th of Last Seed)

It was well after midnight, and Elain had been patrolling the Stone Quarter of Windhelm since dusk. At first the streets were still quite busy, but as the market vendors and shops closed, the passersby slowed to just a few an hour. Mostly folks coming and going from Candlehearth Hall, and the occasional guard on patrol.

She continued her circle from Candlehearth Hall down the alley to the marketplace and around the back of the blacksmith to the cemetery, and back to Candlehearth Hall. She stuck to the shadows, pausing when people entered the area to watch them and avoid detection. She didn't want her presence to deter the serial killer from his next attempt because she knew, at this point, the only way to prove who it was would be to catch him in the act.

Elain had lost count of how many times she had made the circuit when she entered the marketplace on the next trip around. She pulled her heavy fur cloak tighter around her body as a particularly biting wind blew down the alley and glanced around, expecting the marketplace to be empty just as it had been on her last few trips through. This time, however, she noted the blacksmith's apprentice, Hermir, outside in her work area. It looked as though she was looking for something, but Elain was careful not to alert the woman of her presence.

She was a woman who always trusted her instincts, and in that moment, it was as if there was a shift in the air. Something changed, and she felt as though whatever Hermir was doing required her full attention. Stealthily, Elain snuck into the heavy shadows beneath the Dunmer's vendor booth, pulling out her hunting bow.

Hermir let out a small cry of satisfaction, having found what appeared to be a book, and turned to climb the steps to the small stone building where the two blacksmiths resided. Just then, a figure stepped from the shadows in the alleyway opposite Elain, a dagger in hand, and quickly but quietly approached the young Nord.

Elain didn't hesitate, unleashing an arrow and striking the man just as he reached for the unsuspecting woman. The arrow hit home, directly in the neck, and the man clutched his throat and gasped as he fell to the ground. Hermir startled and turned, letting out a shriek of alarm when she saw the fallen man, arrow through his neck and dagger in hand.

The Altmer inspector stepped from the shadows and slowly approached the crime scene, not wanting to alarm the young woman any further.

"By Talos, I was to be next, wasn't I?" Hermir asked when she spotted her, putting the pieces together and realizing what had just occurred.

"I'm afraid it looks that way," Elain replied, kneeling beside the carcass of the killer and checking for a pulse to make sure he was dead. Nothing.

"I don't think I can thank you enough," Hermir stated, obviously shaken. "Why . . . if you hadn't been here . . ."

"No thanks needed," the woman replied, rolling the man onto his back, so she could see his face. "I'm just glad I was here."

Calixto. Once again, her instincts had been right. His nervousness over seeing the amulet and subsequent over-eagerness to procure it, his eyewitness testimony that contradicted the hard evidence, his veiled accusations in pointing Elain toward the court mage when he knew the rumors of the other man . . . all this added up. She hadn't been wrong to think there was something off about the gentleman aside from his well-known exentricities. But his reign of terror over the streets of Windhelm had come to an end.

Two guards appeared on the scene then, having heard Hermir's scream a few moments before.

"You got him!" the first exclaimed happily upon seeing the body on the ground. "It is him, isn't it?"

"It is," Elain confirmed. "I took him down just moments before he made Hermir his next victim. He had his dagger in hand, and as you can see, there is an embalming tool in the bag he is carrying."

"Calixto Corrium," the other guard commented. "I never would've guessed. We all knew he changed after his sister died, but I don't think anyone would've ever suspected him to be capable of these crimes."

"You'd best report to Jorleif," the first guard told Elain. "We'll clean up here and take his body to Helgird."

Elain agreed and, after pocketing Calixto's house key and receiving a grateful hug from Hermir, she left the marketplace. Before traveling to the palace, however, she decided to take a trip to the murderer's home to see if she could come across any evidence that could point to a motive. Calixto wasn't a mage, and her gut told her that his interest in necromancy wasn't for the sake of mastering the art.

* * *

Calixto's House of Curiosities . . . or House of Horrors as she now saw it . . . looked just as it had when she had visited the afternoon before. A fire still burned in the hearth, and the smell of cooked beef permeated the air. She found nothing unusual on the main floor of the residence (though she did pocket a few of the more valuable or interesting pieces in his collection), so she climbed the ladder to the small loft located over the door. There she found some crates, which upon further inspection contained foodstuffs, but behind the crates was hidden a locked chest.

Picking the lock, she found just what she was looking for. Along with various magical ingredients important to necromantic rituals, she found his journal. Skimming through it she discovered that Calixto's sister, Lucilla, either wasn't actually his sister or they, perhaps, had a relationship most would consider inappropriate for siblings to have. He had gone insane with grief after Lucilla's death and became focused upon bringing her back. His collection of various body parts from his victims was leading him toward a ritual where he would embue those parts with Lucilla's soul, thus bringing her back to life in this world. It was madness, and Elain, though her magicka knowledge was limited, doubted it would have worked the way he intended it to.

"He'd have been better off trying to reanimate her actual corpse," she muttered to herself as she tucked the journals into her satchel to present to the steward as evidence.

* * *

Jorleif was less than thrilled to have been pulled out of bed two hours before dawn, but when the guard who had awoken him escorted him to the main hall, and he saw Elain, his demeanor changed.

"Has something happened?" he asked nervously. "Another murder?"

"Almost," Elain replied, "but I was patrolling the Stone Quarter and caught the villain in the act. He has drawn his last breath."

Jorleif let out an audible sigh. "That's a relief! Who was it?"

"Calixto Corrium," Elain replied. "These are the journals I found in his residence. They outline his motive, and the necromantic ritual he intended to perform, as well as naming all of his victims. Along with those we were aware of, he identifies the Cruel-Sea daughter as one of them."

"Well then, it looks like Hillevi was right all along," Jorleif answered. "The robbery was just a coincidence. I suppose I should probably know better than to doubt a mother's intuition."

He took the journals from Elain and thumbed through them. "What's been done with the criminal's body?"

"The guards were taking it to the Hall of the Dead."

The steward nodded. "Thank you, Elain. You have done this city a great service. I will be passing on reports of your findings and praise of all the hard work you have done to the Jarl. I hope you plan to stay in Windhelm. We could certainly use more good people like you."

Outwardly, Elain thanked him for the compliment. Inwardly, she, as she often had, wondered if she really was a good person. Sure, she had stopped a killer. But hadn't she taken lives before herself? And, in truth, the only reason she disagreed with the actions of Calixto were because the women he chose to kill, as far as she knew, were good people. She saw nothing wrong with taking the lives of those who weren't nor did she share her mother's disapproval of necromancy as an art. She had no interest in practicing it, but she was sure it had it's practical uses just as all magicka did.

* * *

Elain slept most of the day away in her room at Candlehearth Hall.

The evening was spent garnering praise and congratulations from the townsfolk who by now had heard of the role she played in stopping the killer. She fell into her bed well after midnight and rather intoxicated. She hadn't had to pay for a single drink herself.


	6. Thane of Eastmarch

Chapter Six: Thane of Eastmarch (Turdas, 28th of Last Seed)

The next couple of days passed rather uneventfully for Elain. Tirdas was spent sleeping off a hangover. On Middas she explored the Grey Quarter and traded in some of the items she had 'inherited' from Calixto for coin at Sadri's Used Wares, the general merchandising shop run by a Dunmer from whom the shop was named.

He'd asked for her help in returning a ring to Viola Giordano. He'd bought it off a patron and later heard the Nord was a missing a ring that sounded very much like it. Sadri feared if Viola discovered he had it, she wouldn't believe how it had come to be in his possession and would go straight to the Jarl's steward. After seeing how Dunmer were treated in the city, Elain felt his fear was justified. Breaking into Viola's home and planting the ring amongst some clothing in a dresser had been a simple task, and she suddenly found herself accepted warmly into the Dunmer community of Windhelm.

Middas was the festival of Harvest's End, and though she'd barely recovered from her hangover from the night before, Elain tied another one on and knew she would be struggling the next morning. Nords certainly knew how to celebrate a holiday, and though she missed her family greatly and longed for the traditions surrounding the festival in her home, she truly did enjoy herself.

Shortly after noon on Turdas, a guard sought Elain out at Candlehearth Hall. The Jarl wanted to see her.

Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak was the textbook definition of a stereotypical Nord man - well over six feet tall with hulking muscles, long blonde hair (though a few streaks of gray were visible in it), and a matching beard. He wore a circlet and ornate fur robes fitting to his station and sat atop his ancient stone throne exuding pure arrogance.

"I've heard a lot of good things about you," he told the Altmer woman in his deep, accented voice, and although the words he spoke were meant to be kind, his disdain for her race was apparent in his expression and tone. "My steward has informed me of the help you were in stopping the madman on his killing spree. Thanks to you, my people were able to celebrate Harvest's End without fear. Ralof has also spoken highly of both you and your sister. He is one of my most trusted soldiers."

Elain stood silently. The man hadn't directly complimented her, so she didn't believe any show of gratitude was needed.

"Because you have proven yourself an asset to my city and been of help to my people, I wish to grant you the title of Thane of Eastmarch," the Jarl continued. "It's an honorary title. You'll have no authority, but the guards will know you rank a tad higher than the commonfolk. As Thane, you are entitled to a residence in the city and a housecarl to guard you and your possessions. I gift to you the home known as Hjerim. You would know it as the former residence of Friga Shatter-Shield. When you have the funds necessary, my steward can assist you in furnishing the home and disposing of any unseemingly remnants of our recent incident."

"Thank you, sir," Elain replied, although she wasn't entirely certain she felt thankful to have been given a home spattered with blood and littered with body parts.

"I also extend to you an offer to join my army," the Jarl added. "Having one of your kind in my ranks could certainly prove to be an interesting twist should you prove loyal. See my general, Galmar Stone-Fist, if you have interest."

"Again, thank you, sir," she answered, "but I'm not certain I am ready, at this time, to get involved in the war. I've only just arrived in Skyrim, and my priority, at the moment, is finding my siblings."

Ulfric was obviously displeased with her answer but chose not to voice it. "Ralof told me of your search for your sister who was at Helgen and some others. Should any news of their presence in Skyrim reach Windhelm, you will be notified."

Somehow, Elain doubted that this man had any interest in helping her find her siblings nor did he intend to actually let her know if he did, especially if they didn't happen to allign with his cause.

Again, out of professional decorum, Elain thanked the Jarl for meeting with her and for the honor of the title, excusing herself to speak with Jorleif about arrangements for her new home. In truth, she couldn't wait to leave the man's presence. He made her uneasy.

* * *

Jorleif was thrilled to hear of Elain's title and quick to tell her that she was the first who wasn't a Nord to ever have been awarded such. He assured her she shouldn't worry about any ill-feelings from the city's residents because of that.

"They're all so relieved to have that killer off the streets and know you were responsible," he told her. "As far as everyone in Windhelm is concerned, you may as well be a Nord."

Elain supposed that was a compliment, considering where it was coming from.

She already had the necessary coin for cleaning and decorating her new home, and Jorleif promised to make arrangements immediately, though it would take a few days to make the place livable again.

Although she still didn't believe Windhelm was a place she would ever feel at home, at least not while Ulfric Stormcloak was in charge, owning property did give Elain a sense of peace. It would be nice to have her own space, a place to store her things, and a haven away from the harshness of the city.

And, should she find her siblings and discover they hadn't had the success she had experienced thus far in adjusting to life in Skyrim, she had a place to invite them to where they would be safe and could get their start as well.

And, the one positive aspect of Windhelm and Ulfric Stormcloak - she had absolutely no worries of the Thalmor finding her so long as she remained in the city's thick stone walls.

 **Author's Note: That is the end of the first part of Elain's story. Now it's time to take a break from her life in Windhelm and find out what's going on with the final sister, Glenys. Her story, _Skyrim Book V: Glenys_ , will be posted as soon as possible as I already have the first part written. Look for it in the next day or so. If you haven't already read the first parts for the other three sisters (Aerenwen, Mari, and Nesta), they can be found on my profile.**


	7. Sisters and Thieves

Part II: Hearthfire

Chapter One: Sisters and Thieves (Sundas, Seventh of Hearthfire)

Elain was, surprisingly feeling rather at home in the icy city of Windhelm. Since solving the murders, the local Nords had basically accepted the Altmer as one of their own. She no longer had to endure dirty looks and racial slurs, though she still encountered that sort of treatment given to others, especially the Dunmer. She found herself intervening now when she witnessed those tense moments, and sometimes, the bigoted Nords' respect for her actually caused them to change their actions, even if only slightly. Of course the city was still rather unaccepting of outsiders, and she didn't expect to change that overnight, or by herself for that matter, especially with Ulfric Stormcloak sitting on the throne.

She supposed any progress was just that - progress - even baby steps.

Usually the arrival of Hearthfire brought about her favorite season - Autumn. The nights began to cool, and the leaves upon the trees began to change their tint slightly, hinting at the bright hues and beautiful spectacle they would create within the coming weeks. However, in her new home, it was always winter. She despised it, and fully intended to do some traveling in the not too distance future. She needed out of the cold, even if just for a short time.

In her quest for her siblings, she hadn't had any definite leads. A wagon driver from Riften described an Altmer woman who could have fit Nesta's description arriving in the city around the first of the month. She'd heard of various organizations that would have appealed her sisters and brother located throughout Skyrim - the Companions in Whiterun for Aerenwen, the Thieves' Guild in Riften for Nesta, the Bards' College in Solitude for Steffen, and the College of Winterhold for Mari. But she had no idea if they would have heard of these groups or even if they had the means to join them at the time. Were they hurt? Were they hungry? Had they found shelter? Were they even alive?

She had decided her first trip would be to Solitude. After all, Ralof had felt that was where the man who had helped Aerenwen in Helgen would have headed. If she wasn't there, perhaps at least Hadvar would be, and maybe he would have some idea of where her sister may have headed.

While she was there, she intended to investigate the Bards' College. Her instincts told her Steffen would find his way there eventually. He was a talented singer and weaver of words, and he could play nearly any instrument given to him, though he preferred the lute. The bardic tradition wasn't really considered a career path in Altmer society, rather a hobby, so he had never been allowed to pursue his talents seriously. In Skyrim, however, it was a well-respected life path, and she knew it would appeal to her brother greatly, just as it had to her uncle, Borir.

Elain had hunted for her uncle a bit as well, but no one in Windhelm seemed to have heard of him. That wasn't entirely unsurprising, even if the aged Altmer was alive and well, as a city like Windhelm wouldn't have been welcoming to someone like him. Whether serving as a bard or mercenary, because of his race, Borir probably would have had a cool reception if he'd ever visited there and would have avoided it for places more profitable.

It was Sundas and an especially bitter day. She'd spent the majority of it in her home, thumbing through the collection of books she'd recently purchased from Sadri in his general merchandising store in the Gray Quarter and avoiding her housecarl, Calder. The man annoyed her greatly, but he would serve a purpose, protecting her home and belongings when she traveled, so she hadn't refused his services as of yet.

At dinnertime, she decided to make her way over to the inn. She took a different path than usual, still trying to learn her way through the various corridors and alleys in the labyrinth of the city.

She wasn't far from the inn when she overheard a Dunmer woman scolding a young boy for trying to get into one of the houses.

"Then it's true what everybody is saying?" the boy responded to her excitedly. "That Aventus Aretino is doing the Black Sacrament? Trying to summon the Dark Brotherhood?"

Elain, though not from Skyrim, was familiar with the Dark Brotherhood who had once had a presence all throughout Tamriel. They'd fallen on hard times, and she wasn't aware they were still active. Her interest was piqued, and she paused in the shadows to continue eavesdropping.

"No," the Dunmer insisted, though her nerves were reflected in her voice. "Of course not. Those are just tales."

"Fine," the boy replied. "Then I'll invite him out to play." He headed toward the door of the house again. "I'm going to knock on his door . . ." He walked slowly, obviously baiting the woman into a reaction.

He got the reaction he wanted when she grabbed his arm. "No, child! That house and that boy are cursed."

"Ha!" the young boy squealed excitedly. "Then I'm right! He's trying to have someone killed?"

The Dunmer nodded. "Alright, fine. I won't deny it, Grimvar. What you heard is true. But Aventus walks a dark path. His actions can only lead to ruin, and I will not have you getting involved. Enough, now. We will speak no more of this. Go about your business."

The boy nodded obediently and ran off in the direction of the marketplace. Elain approached the Dunmer, startling her slightly.

"I apologize," she stated with a soft smile. "I didn't mean to surprise you like that, but I overheard your conversation. Something about a boy called Aventus Aretino and the Dark Brotherhood?"

The Dunmer nodded. "Yes, it's quite sad," she replied. "The boy lost his parents a few months ago and was sent away to the orphanage in Riften. He returned, though . . . all alone. People have heard strange chanting coming from his home during the night. They say it's the Black Sacrament, the ritual to contact the Dark Brotherhood. Why a little boy would want to contact a group of murderers is beyond me, but he is inviting evil into this city."

Elain frowned, glancing curiously at the house and the dim light shining through a second-story window. She would investigate this further under the cover of darkness.

* * *

Candlehearth Hall was full of its usual patrons, and Elain was greeted in the exuberant manner she was growing accustomed to. Ever since her role in helping stop the murders, she'd become quite popular. Normally, she'd find the attention annoying, but considering the rudeness she had encountered in the city initially, the warm greetings were a welcomed change.

The elf hadn't been in the inn long when she noticed her. Her eyes had scanned the crowd in the tavern, trying to determine who she would join for a drink, and she did a double-take as they passed over a familiar figure with straw-colored hair. Nesta!

Elain immediately approached her younger sister, smiling widely and ignoring anyone else who spoke to her. Nesta stood, and the sisters embraced.

"Here I've been worried about you, and you're a damn celebrity in this ridiculously cold excuse for a city," Nesta stated as they stepped apart.

"Damn it's good to see you," Elain replied with a wide smile. She sat down and gestured for her sister to do the same. "What are you doing here?"

"Work," Nesta replied with a shrug.

That surprised her. "Work? What kind of work?"

"I'm a member of the Thieves' Guild," the blonde replied quietly.

That didn't surprise Elain too much. After all, at home on Auridon, the two sisters had worked together as mercenaries of a sort, and most of the jobs they took were ones that more honorable mercenaries, like their sister Aerenwen, would turn down. Yet, hadn't she heard the Thieves' Guild was floundering? She frowned. "I'd heard they weren't doing well in Skyrim."

"They haven't been," Nesta replied, "but I'm here to change that."

That caused Elain to chuckle. "Of course you are. Just stay out of my house."

"You own a home in Windhelm?" Nesta asked in surprise.

"I do," she answered. "You're looking at a Thane of Eastmarch complete with my own property in the city. Are you staying here?" At her sister's answering nod, she continued, "You can't. I insist you come home with me. We'll catch up in the privacy of my home."

* * *

Hjerim had become a comfortable home. It was dark, which suited Elain, and warm, and it offered her privacy that the inn had not. The downside was her housecarl. Calder always seemed to be underfoot, and Elain couldn't really picture herself ever becoming friends with the Nord or even enjoying his company. Frankly, she'd rather be alone.

As usual, he was on his feet and greeting his Thane as soon as she arrived. She quickly introduced him to Nesta and could tell immediately that he recognized her sister's Thieves' Guild armor just by the disapproving look he gave her. It was absolutely none of his business who Elain allowed to stay in her home, however, and she'd kick the housecarl out on the street before she ever allowed him to be rude to her sister.

"I would like some privacy to catch up with my sister," she told him. "Why don't you take some coins and go pay a visit to Candlehearth Hall?"

Calder nodded and reluctantly left the house.

"I don't think your housecarl was impressed by my uniform," Nesta commented with a smirk after the man had left.

Elain rolled her eyes. "He's loyal, though more to Stormcloak than to me, but his orders are to serve me, and he fulfills those orders well. He guards the house when I'm away, but he's not much for conversation. He's bigoted and sexist and far too straight laced for my liking."

Following a quick tour of the house, the two sisters took a seat beside the roaring hearth in the kitchen.

"What happened to you that night?" Elain asked.

"I hid in a tree to avoid the fighting," Nesta replied. "I saw Aerenwen. She was captured and held as a prisoner by the Imperial army. I tracked them through the night until they arrived at a city in the mountains - Helgen. While I was trying to decide what my next step was, and if it was even possible for me to free her alone, a dragon attacked and destroyed the city. I was a coward, Lani. I ran. Our sister was probably slaughtered by that dragon, and all I could do was run away."

"You were saving yourself, Nes," Elain replied, placing a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's what we all agreed we would do if we were ever separated. There was nothing you could do against a dragon, sister, but Aerenwen survived the dragon attack."

"Really? You've seen her?" Nesta asked excitedly.

"No, but I met a Stormcloak soldier named Ralof who was taken prisoner with her," she replied. "He saw her make it into the keep away from the dragon and seemed to trust the person she was escaping with. He felt certain they would've made it out. That's how I ended up in Windhelm." Elain then told her sister the rest of her tale, including her opinion on the hold's Jarl and leader of the rebels.

Nesta expressed her envy over her sister's home and thanked her for inviting her to stay. Apparently she'd be in Windhelm off and on over the next few weeks.

"Why all the business here?" Elain wondered.

"Well, as you said earlier, the Thieves' Guild has fallen on some hard times," Nesta replied. "We still have a lot of influence in our home base of Riften, as well as a fence and some influential clientele. But in the rest of Skyrim, we've got nothing. No clients, no support, no respect. A few of us are working to change that, although our Guild Master seems as though he could care less. We're starting in Windhelm. The hope is if we have a decent crime spree here, people will remember who we are and realize we still hold some power in Skyrim, and hopefully, we'll pick up some influential supporters."

Elain nodded. It made sense. "Well, I could be a contact for you here in Windhelm," she offered. "I probably won't have any jobs of my own for you people. You know I like to handle my own affairs, but I could be an inside person. Listen for rumors or other jobs and the like. I would simply ask that your people stay out of my home and the home of Brunwulf Free-Winter. He's a good man, and he's really trying to make a difference in the city and help those who are stigmatized by the other Nords. I have hopes that when the Stormcloaks lose this conflict, he will be placed in the position of Jarl."

"You think the Stormcloaks will lose?" Nesta asked.

Elain shrugged. "The Imperial Army is backed by the Empire. Their funding is greater as is the pool to recruit soldiers from. The Stormcloaks are bleeding their own people dry to fund their war effort, and eventually people are going to have enough of it."

"I'll speak with my superiors about your offer," Nesta replied. "I'm told that our old contacts and fence from a decade ago when we were active in Windhelm are no longer here, so we'll pretty much be starting from scratch."

"What's your first job?" her sister wondered.

"I have some numbers to forge in the logs of a few businesses tomorrow night, hoping to cover our asses with some shipments we're rerouting," she replied. "I'm also to get to know the lay of land, determine some good marks, before returning back to Riften. Two colleagues of mine will be coming and going, performing jobs every night over the next few weeks, and I'm sort of overseeing it all since our superiors need to stay close to headquarters."

"Are these colleagues decent people?" Elain asked.

Nesta nodded. "Vipir and Niruin," she replied. "I trust them both. They have the Guild's best interests at heart."

"If you trust them, they're welcome to stay here as well if they'd like," Elain offered. "It would be safer, easier to avoid suspicion, and would save you all some coin."

Nesta smiled. "That would be great. If we did that, we may even be able to lay low and stick around the full two weeks rather than traveling back and forth and risk running into trouble. I'll talk to Brynjolf."

"Who's Brynjolf?" Elain asked. "By the gods, are you blushing?"

Nesta laughed. "No," she replied although she definitely was. "There's the Guild Master, Mercer Fray - I don't like him. And then there are what they call the Guild Thirds - Brynjolf, Vex, and Delvin Mallory. They assign the jobs, arrange contacts, that sort of stuff. Brynjolf recruited me into the Guild."

"And you like him," Elain teased.

"He's incredibly attractive," the thief replied, blushing again. "And he's smart and kind. A thief yes, but a good man. I may have a bit of a crush."

"Is it reciprocated?"

"I have no idea," Nesta answered. "He's a bit of a flirt, but he's like that with all the girls from what I can tell. But he's taken a special interest in me, and I have yet to figure out if that is just because of my talents when it comes to our trade or if there is more to it."

"Have you told him?"

Nesta shook her head. "Just over the top flirting," she laughed. "I need to get my feet on the ground and earn a name for myself in the Guild before I worry about starting anything with anyone. What about you? Anyone caught your eye?"

"No, not really," Elain replied. "I slept with that Ralof fellow on the way to Windhelm but his performance didn't exactly give Nord men a good name. I haven't really had much interest in looking for anything since arriving, honestly."

"Knowing you, that won't last long."

Elain laughed.

"I'm really glad we found each other," Nesta commented. "I hope the others are doing as well as we are."

"Me, too, Nes, me too." The sisters sat in silence for a short time, their mood soured at the thought that their siblings may not be doing as well as they were. "Now, tell me, how did you go from fleeing the dragon at Helgen to becoming a guild-certified thief in Riften?"

Nesta grinned. "Well, I ended up in Ivarstead," she replied. "I worked there for a few weeks, made some friends . . . but you know me. Small town life isn't really my thing. When I had saved up a bit, I headed to Riften. It wasn't long before I was recommended into the Guild."

Elain chuckled. "I can only imagine the sort of trouble you caused to lead to that recommendation."

"None, I swear!" Nesta laughed. "Apparently I'm spunky and have balls."

Elain smiled as her sister continued to tell her about Riften and the friends she'd made. When she'd lost her siblings, she'd lost a big part of herself. Now that she'd found Nesta, one of the two she had always been the closest with, she felt a bit more complete.


	8. The Black Sacrament

Chapter Two: The Black Sacrament (Morndas, 8th of Hearthfire)

It had been dark for several hours when Elain slunk through the shadows toward the Aretino residence. She picked the lock quickly and slid through the door, ascending a flight of stairs directly inside. The light in the room above her was dim, and the closer she got to the top of the stairs the louder a child's voice could be heard chanting.

"Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother, send your child unto me," he was saying. "For the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."

This chant was repeated over and over, and Elain, whose interests had always lain in the macabre, was well aware of what that chant signified. The Black Sacrament was being performed - a prayer to the Night Mother, bride to Sithis - and the invocation of a contract with the Dark Brotherhood. This boy wanted someone dead.

Elain quietly crept toward a small room where the light and chanting were originating from. In the room she found a small boy knelt over a gruesome scene - bones, flesh, and blood as well as a human heart were arranged within a circle of candles - and he was repeatedly stabbing the effigy he had created with a dagger as he chanted. She wondered where this boy had managed to find all the necessary items needed for the ritual as well as how on Nirn a child had come by the knowledge of the Black Sacrament in such detail.

Standing silently in the shadows, she watched him for a short time before finally stepping closer and clearing her throat, signaling to the boy he was no longer alone in the room.

Startled, the brown-haired child turned quickly, his bright, tired eyes immediately landing on Elain. "It worked!" he gasped, jumping to his feet. "I just knew it would. I did the Black Sacrament over and over . . . with the body and the . . the things. And then you came! A real assassin from the Dark Brotherhood."

"I'm sorry, boy," Elain replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not who you think I am."

"Of course you are!" he argued. "I prayed, and you came. Now you'll accept my contract."

Deciding to give the boy some peace, she allowed him to believe what he wanted and played along. "It seems you were very thorough with the details," she commented.

"It took so long," he replied. "So very long. But now that you're finally here, you can accept my contract."

"Who is it that you want dead, boy?" Elain asked.

He sighed and sat down, cross-legged on the floor. He would've looked the picture of innocence if not for the ritual scene behind him. "My father was a soldier and never came back. Then my mother, she . . . she died, too. She was so sick. I'm all alone now, and they sent me to that terrible orphanage in Riften. Honorhall. The headmistress is an evil, cruel woman. They call her Grelod the Kind, but she's not kind! She's horrible. To all of us. She uses us as slaves and beats us when we don't get our work done. She barely feeds us. So I ran away and came home, and I performed the Black Sacrament. I want you to kill Grelod the Kind."

He hurried over to a bookshelf in the corner. "I know the Dark Brotherhood expects payment. I don't have any money, but I have a family heirloom." He held up an ornate, guilded vase. "It's supposed to be really valuable. I hope that will be alright."

Elain frowned. "Are you sure about this, boy?"

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life," he answered, and the elf could tell that he meant it. "Someone like Grelod doesn't deserve to live one more day. She's a monster. Those kids . . . they deserve so much more than her."

Elain nodded. "Very well."

"I'll be here when the contract is completed," Aventus stated.

Again, Elain nodded.

Apparently she was traveling to Riften.


	9. A Night to Remember

Chapter Three: A Night to Remember (Turdas, 11th of Hearthfire; Fridas, 12th of Hearthfire; Loredas, 13th of Hearthfire; Sundas, 14th of Hearthfire; Morndas, 15th of Hearthfire)

After Elain had seen to her sister and her friends getting settled in her home and made certain that Calder wouldn't cause any problems for them, Elain set off for Riften. She arrived at the city rather late in the evening and secured herself a room at the inn. She found the Argonian innkeeper to be rather terse, but she wouldn't be staying long. In fact, she doubted she'd be returning to Riften anytime soon.

Before following through on her promise to the boy, she decided to see for herself just horrible this Grelod woman was. If he was just a disillusioned little boy who hated the woman because he'd been sent there after his mother's death, she wasn't going to kill her. But if she truly mistreated the children, then she'd keep her word to the boy.

It didn't take long to see that Aventus hadn't been exaggerating. Elain perched outside an open window to the orphange, hiding amongst some shrubbery, and listened as the elderly woman barked out orders to the tired children, who should have already been in bed, and told them how worthless they were and that no one would ever want them.

Shortly after midnight, she snuck into the orphanage - an easy task for someone with her skillset, and slit the old woman's throat as she slept in her bed. She left the building without having been detected and made her way back to the inn.

"You look like someone who can handle her drink," a voice commented as she headed toward the stairwell, having not intended to spend any time in the tavern. She turned and her eyes found an attractive man with dark hair, wearing black robes and grinning at her from a wooden bench. She simply raised a dark eyebrow at him. "Up for a drinking contest?"

Again, Elain chose not to answer.

"Aw, come on," he urged. "It'll be fun. I have my own home brew with me. It's quite strong. It'll be fun."

Elain sighed and shrugged. Why not? "What's in it for me?" she asked.

"If you win, you can have a magical staff I have in my possession," the man replied. He stood and extended his hand. "I'm Sam."

"Elain," she answered, accepting his handshake. He passed her a bottle from within his robes and pulled a second out for himself. He raised it in the air. "To raising Oblivion and having fun doing it," he toasted with a wink.

This caused Elain to chuckle. Their bottles clinked as they met in the air, and she took a swig.

* * *

Her head pounded, and the light only made the feeling worsen as she tried to open her eyes. Her body and nether regions ached in that painful yet satisfying way they would after a night of very active, and very fulfilling, sex, and she strained to remember what happened.

She'd killed the old woman at the orphanage and then . . . Sam. She could vaguely recall flirting with the attractive man as the drink lowered her inhibitions. She tried to remember and was finally granted flashes of bare skin, strong muscles, and a very large . . . .

"It's about damn time you woke up," an angry voice stated, pulling her from her thoughts.

Elain forced her eyes open and was met with the sight of a very beautiful, very angry priestess. She glanced around and realized she was in a temple . . . a temple to Dibella, she gathered . . . a very messy temple to Dibella.

"Where am I?" Elain asked.

The priestess crossed her arms and frowned. "I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were already deep in your cups when you got here. You are at the Temple of Dibella in Markarth."

Markarth? Why that was on the complete opposite side of Skyrim from Riften! How, in gods' names, had she ended up there? She started to ask exactly that, but the priestess held up her hand.

"You and your friend made quite a mess," she stated, still frowning. "You came in here fondling statues and wrecking things . . . knocking things over as you stumbled around. I hope you plan to clean up after yourself before you expect me to answer any questions."

Elain nodded, chagrined, and quickly went about tidying up. In the process, she found several odd ingredients, including a giant's toe and a hagraven feather, and a note, which explained these items were needed to repair the staff Sam had promised her. Of course her prize staff would be damaged, and he'd left her to clean up the mess. What a fool she was to enter that drinking contest.

When she'd finished picking up, she approached the priestess and handed over a sizeable amount of coin to cover the statues they had damaged. "I'm very sorry for any trouble I caused. This is very unlike me," she stated honestly. "I can usually handle my drink, but Sam had offerred up something he brewed himself, and I'm not certain what was in it. I feel terrible to have behaved in such a way, and I have no idea how I ended up in Markarth."

The priestess cast her a small smile. "I'm afraid I don't have much information for you. You rambled quite a lot, but it was difficult to understand you with your slurring. Rorikstead was mentioned."

"Rorikstead?" Elain asked. "Where is that?"

"It's a small village on the edge of Whiterun Hold," the priestess replied.

"Was it Sam who was with me when we arrived?" she asked, wondering if they'd pulled anyone else into their drunken shenanigans.

The priestess nodded. "I'm not sure when he snuck out. He was still here when I retired in the wee hours of the morning. He wasn't nearly as far gone as you. Perhaps, he can help you piece the night together when you find him."

"I would have no idea where to look for him," Elain answered. "We only just met last night."

The other woman looked surprised at that. "I'm sorry. I assumed you were lovers. You seemed quite comfortable with him as you practiced the rites of Dibella on the steps of the altar." She nodded toward the large, stone structure in the center of the room with a smirk.

Elain blushed.

"If it's any consolation, he was quite kind to you, and you seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely," the priestess added. "I considered joining but was already angry at the mess you'd made. You cleaned up, though, and this financial contribution will do more than repair the statues. I can see you aren't someone who causes this sort of trouble and acts blasphemously as a rule. All is forgiven. Perhaps, if you pray at her altar, Dibella will cure you of your hangover."

Elain nodded and approached the altar, kneeling in prayer for a moment. She felt a warmth encase her, and it wasn't long before the headache and aches in her body had passed.

"Tell me, Elain," the priestess asked, though the elf hadn't stood yet and was facing away from her. "Do you practice the teachings of Dibella often?"

The dark-haired woman smirked slightly. "I will confess, her rites are some of my favorite to practice."

"And have you visited her temple before?"

"Not this one," she answered, "but I frequented the temple in Firsthold in my homeland and have participated in the priestesses' ceremonies." She smiled at her memories of the amazing orgies she had been a part of.

The sound of rustling fabric pulled her from her musings, and she turned, surprised to see the beautiful priestess now standing nude before her. She was a petite woman - obviously of Breton descent - and her dark hair flowed down her bare back in loose waves.

"Elain, I am Senna," she stated with a hungry look in her eyes. "I must say I was quite taken with the sight of you last night and wish for your help in my worship this morning."

Elain stood and approached the priestess, swallowing thickly. She knelt before her and grasped the woman's narrow hips in her hands, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss just below her naval. She trailed her lips in a path toward the priestess' hip bone, nipping at it slightly, causing the other woman to gasp. She cast her amber-colored eyes upward, drinking in the sight of the beautiful woman and smiling. "As you wish."

* * *

It was well into the evening when Elain finally left the temple, her body tired but invigorated from making love with the priestess. Senna had gazed at her wide-eyed and breathless when she bid her farewell with a soft kiss.

"Thank you," the priestess had stated softly, brown eyes cast down and a soft blush painting her prominent cheekbones. "If I hadn't pledged myself to Dibella's service, I feel I would be following you. I'm not sure I've ever experienced what we just did. As devout as I am, the temptation to remain in your company is still there."

Elain had agreed. Her connection with the priestess had been deep. She'd felt it, stronger than any other she'd experienced, as their bodies had moved together. But she wasn't naive enough to think the priestess would turn her back on her service nor to believe that strong physical chemistry meant other aspects of a relationship would be so seamless. She promised to return if she ever found herself in Markarth again, and she meant it. The elf could certainly handle a repeat performance with the beautiful, Breton priestess.

The temple was located quite high in the city of Markarth, which was built within an ancient Dwemer ruin, and Elain marveled at the view of the city before beginning her descent down several sets of stone stairs.

She still wasn't certain how she and Sam had made the trip from Riften to Markarth so quickly. She had developed a bit of basic knowledge of the geography of Skryim since arriving there, and from what she knew, the trip between the two cities should have, at best, taken three days. Yet only twelve hours had transpired between the time she encountered Sam in The Bee and Barb and when she awoke in the temple. There was something magical afoot - that was all that could explain the trip and her completely absent memories of the night before.

She was pulled from her musings when she, quite literally, bumped into another person at the bottom of the steps. She looked up to apologize, but her words were lost in her throat as she took in the wide-eyed appearance of her youngest sister.

"Elain?" the brown-haired Altmer gasped.

"Glenys!" she exclaimed, embracing her. "By the gods, is it good to see you!"

Glenys had invited Elain back to her home where they dined and caught up. Elain was pleased to see that her sister was in very good hands. She had earned herself a title, a lovely home, and a housecarl by solving a conspiracy in the city and earning the respect of the hold's Jarl. Her housecarl, Argis, was a kind Nord with a jovial sense of humor, and his devotion to her sister's safety was apparent. That devotion was only surpassed by that of another Nord man who shared her sister's bed.

Vorstag was a mercenary - a very handsome one at that - and he was clearly absolutely smitten with her younger sister. The four people had shared their meal as well as their stories, but although Glenys had been invited to spend the night (Argis even offered to give her his bed), she had bid them farewell and returned to the temple. If she was going to spend another night in Markarth, it would be in the arms of her priestess.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon on Sundas when Elain finally arrived in Rorikstead. The village was a small farming community, and she'd immediately discovered why she had been there previously when a young farmer began cursing at her about his goat.

Apparently she and Sam had stolen his beloved Gleda, a prize-winning goat, and sold her to a giant. They'd left him the payment, but he didn't want the coin, he wanted his goat back, and he was quite insistent that he wouldn't give Elain any more information until she was back in his possession.

Getting Gleda back had not been an easy task. Elain wasn't terribly familiar with giants. In fact, as she had no memories of her drunken night with Sam, she couldn't even remember ever having encountered one. She tried to reason with the giant, a large, hairy and tattooed man called Grok, offering him the return of his payment and then some for the goat, but he refused. A deal was a deal. She was forced to perch herself upon a nearby boulder - the only place the giant couldn't get to her - and fire arrow after arrow at the great beast. She really didn't want to kill him and was relieved when he finally submitted and told her to take the damn goat.

After returning Gleda, the farmer, Ennis, was much more forthcoming with information. He gave her the note she had left with the payment for the goat. Most of the scribbles were barely legible, but she could make out a line that read "after repaying Ysolda in Whiterun".

She had no idea who Ysolda was nor what she owed her money for, but apparently Whiterun was her next stop.

* * *

As luck would have it, she encountered Ysolda when she was securing a room at the city's inn, The Bannered Mare. It was quite late, and she had thought she'd have to seek out the woman the following morning.

"How was the wedding?" the attractive Nord woman asked with a smile.

Elain was confused. Wedding? "I'm sorry. I don't have much recollection of that night," she replied. "I really wasn't myself. What wedding?"

"Your wedding of course!" the redhead replied with a frown. "You told me such a beautiful story about your proposal, and you said the ceremony was going to be at Morvunskar. I hoped when you returned to pay me for the ring, I'd get to meet your fiancee. She sounds so lovely. Moire, I believe you said her name was?"

Elain simply nodded, though she was more confused than ever. She didn't know a Moire, nor could she ever imagine herself proposing to anyone let alone someone she'd just met. And where was Morvunskar? "How much do I owe you?" she asked.

"2000 septims," Ysolda replied. "I don't usually sell something on credit like that, but you seemed in such a hurry to return to Witch Mist Grove to reunite with your love."

Elain groaned and pulled out the payment, thankful she'd carried more coin with her than she usually did on this unplanned journey. Hopefully when she found this Moire in Witch Mist Grove, she could get the ring back and sell it. "Did I tell you anything else about the wedding I had planned?" she asked.

Ysolda gave her an odd look but replied, "All you said was that your friend, Sam, was going to be your best man. He was with you when you bought the ring."

Elain nodded and began to walk away.

"I'm sorry, but I have to state," the woman called out, stopping her, "you look so much like a friend of mine . . . and not just because you're both Altmer . . . it's . . . the resemblance is uncanny. Aside from your dark hair, I'd swear you were twins."

This peaked Elain's interest. That had often been said about her and Aerenwen. "What color is her hair?"

"Red," Ysolda replied. "Well, a reddish brown. Auburn. A bit like mine."

"Does her name happen to be Aerenwen?" Elain asked.

Ysolda smiled. "Why, yes! Do you know her?"

"Quite well," Elain answered. "She's my sister. Do you know where I could find her?"

"She owns a home here," Ysolda answered. "It's the small cottage between the blacksmith's shop and Belethor's General Goods - not far from the gate. She's a member of the Companions," she added.

Elain nodded. She'd heard of the Companions. The Nords were quite proud of their ancient order of honorable warriors. "Do me a favor, please," she stated. "Don't tell Aerenwen we met. I'd like to surprise her. I need to go sort this out with Moire, but then I'll return and track her down."

Ysolda smiled, quickly agreeing. "Do you mean you're not going to go through with the wedding?"

The elf nodded. "I'm afraid the liquor my friend Sam gave me the other night must have had something in it that caused me to completely lose my senses," she replied. "I don't know a Moire, and if I only just met her the other night, I'm certainly not going to rush into marriage with someone I don't even recall meeting."

Ysolda smiled sadly at her but nodded in understanding. "Tell you what, if you manage to get the ring back and return it to me, I'll give you back your payment in full. You seem like a nice woman, and you're Aerenwen's sister after all. She's done so much for this city, and I can't help but want to cut you a break, what with your friend taking advantage of you and all. That wasn't really fair of him to give you drink that was spiked with something."

Elain thanked her and left the inn, deciding if she was going to get to the bottom of this and return to find Aerenwen, she didn't want to take the time to spend the night.

* * *

Elain found Morvunskar just off the road about halfway between Whiterun and Windhelm thanks to the directions she'd received from the carriage driver outside Whiterun. It was an old fort inhabited by a group of necromancer's who were not even remotely happy to see her.

It took hours to find her way through the fort, slinking through the shadows and battling the mages as she went. Finally, she found herself in a large room deep within the fort, and an odd bluish circle of light glowed atop a set of stairs. She recognized it as a portal of some sort and decided she may as well enter it.

On the other side of the portal, though she'd been afraid of what she would find, she found herself within a peaceful garden decorated with hanging lanterns. She followed a path and eventually came across a group of people sharing a meal at a large table. Sam was with them and stood, approaching her with a smile.

"You're here!" he stated. "I was beginning to think you might not make it."

Despite the circumstances, Elain found it difficult to be angry with the man and decided just to get some answers. "It was quite a trip," she replied dryly. "Where are we?"

"I thought you might have forgotten your first trip here," the man answered with a smirk. "You had a big night. I think you've definitely earned the staff."

"I have all the things you said we needed to repair it," Elain told him, reaching for her satchel.

"Oh, the hagraven feather and such," he chuckled. "You can throw all that stuff out." Suddenly, the handsome man transformed into a being unlike any Elain had ever seen. Still a man, he was extremely tall and horned, wearing daedric armor, his skin an inhuman mixture of black and bright red coloring. "I really just needed something to encourage you to go out into the world and spread merriment, and you did just that! I haven't been so entertained in at least a hundred years," he added with a laugh.

Elain frowned. "So all of this was just a prank?"

"Just a prank?" He sounded appalled. "The Daedric Lord of debauchery does not deal in mere pranks, elf. This may have begun as a minor amusement, but it wasn't long before I realized you'd make a more interesting barer of my not-quite-holy staff."

Ah. So this was Sanguine. "Why did you choose me?"

Sanguine shrugged. "Let's be honest here," he replied. "I don't always think my decisions through, but you . . . you're going places. Maybe a little influence from your old, uncle Sanguine could help adjust your course a bit."

Elain sighed. None of this had been what she'd planned, and she found herself quite annoyed to have been the butt of a daedric lord's joke, let alone the fact that she had participated in sexual relations with a daedric lord. "Thanks, I guess."

"My pleasure," Sanguine replied. "But I think it's time for you to go. No fun keeping you locked up in here with the staff."

Suddenly, Elain found herself within The Bee and Barb again. She looked down at the staff in her hand - the Sanguine Rose. She'd read of the artifact - a long staff styled to appear like a pink rose blooming amongst thorns. Like most daedric artifacts, it had a long history and a reputation, but she wasn't certain what she'd do with it now that it was in her possession.

She strapped the staff to her back and, rather than remaining at the inn, she traveled outside in the darkness and began the travel north to the village of Shor's Stone. From there, she'd enter the volcanic tundra, knowing she would find Witch Mist Grove there, just south of the city she now called home. She needed to find this Moire and let her down easily, hopefully getting that ring back in the process.

* * *

Elain was both shocked and appalled to discover that her fiancee, Moire, was a hideous hagraven, living alone in a rundown shack in the small glade of trees known as Witch Mist Grove. She shouldn't have been surprised given everything she'd been through over the last few days and supposed gaining the inhuman woman's favor was how they had obtained the hagraven feather that was still in her possession.

Unlike Elain, Moire was thrilled to see the other woman, and hobbled out of the cabin exclaiming, "Darling! I've been waiting for you to return to consummate our love!"

Elain suppressed a shudder. No way in Oblivion would she be making love to that thing.

"I'm sorry, Moire," she stated, hoping to reason with the woman rather than have to take on a hagraven at close-range all by herself. "I'm afraid we're not suited for each other. I'm sorry for any hurt that may cause you, but I really wasn't myself the other night. I was hoping to get the ring back, so I could return it, and then I'll leave you alone. You won't have to see me again."

The old witch hissed. "What?!" she cackled. "You want it for that hussy, Esmeralda, with the dark feathers, don't you?"

"No, Moire, no," Elain replied, hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm more suited to be alone, I swear. It's not you, it's me!"

"I won't let anyone else have you!" Moire crowed.

Elain dove behind a tree as the hagraven began shooting fireballs at her. "Gods damned Sanguine," she muttered to herself. She pulled out her bow and waited for the fireballs to subside then fired off an arrow. Despite the brief moment of time she had to aim, it hit its mark, striking the haggard bird-woman through her left eye. The elf removed the wedding ring from her gnarled finger and, with a frown, supposed this meant she was a widow now. Though was a ceremony she couldn't remember that was performed by a daedric lord actually legally binding?

Slinging her bow over her shoulder, she made her way towards Windhelm with the intent of securing a carriage to transport her back to Whiterun. She was exhausted. Maybe she could sleep on the way.


	10. Sisterly Reunions

Chapter Four: Sisterly Reunions (Tirdas, 16th of Hearthfire; Middas, 17th of Hearthfire; Fridas, 19th of Hearthfire)

Elain inquired after her sister upon reaching Whiterun. She found the people at the inn were more than happy to tell her the tales of Aerenwen's valor since arriving in the hold. Apparently not only had she joined the renowned group of warriors at Jorrvaskr, but she had also gained the Jarl's favor, been given the title of Thane of Whiterun, adopted a child who had been orphaned at Helgen, and bested a dragon. There were rumors of her being something they called Dragonborn.

"Where can I find this hero?" she asked the drunk who had been so forthcoming with information despite Elain being a stranger. "I'd like to meet her for myself."

"I saw her and the Huntress leave the city on some Companion's mission, I'd imagine," the old man slurred. "Ain't returned yet far as I know, and I know everything that goes on in Whiterun."

Elain found her sister's home easily, and she watched it closely. A dark-haired Nord woman dressed as a warrior and a little boy left together, followed by a small fox. She gathered the woman was her sister's housecarl, and she wished she'd gotten a woman as well instead of the miserable man she shared her home with. After they'd disappeared down the road toward the marketplace, the Altmer woman easily picked the lock on the door.

She explored the small home. It was cozy and well stocked with books and weapons, certainly echoing Aerenwen's personality. She helped herself to a bit of the stew that was cooking over the fire before making her way upstairs where she found her sister's bedroom. Elain made herself comfortable on the bed to await her sister's return.

Elain stayed on the bed when the housecarl and the boy, whom she had learned through eavesdropping were called Lydia and Hamish, were at home to avoid detection. She kept herself busy reading or dozing during the quiet times, but she found she enjoyed listening to her new nephew. He was so young and despite all he had been through, so full of life and innocence. She could see why her sister, whom she had never pictured as being the motherly type, had wanted to keep him safe. When they were out of the house, Elain explored, helping herself to her sister's book collection and pantry.

It was late evening on the second day when Aerenwen finally returned. Hamish was already in bed, and Lydia had retired as well, though Elain heard her get up to welcome the Thane home. She listened as her sister and Aela, the Huntress she had heard talk of around town, shared a meal, and though they spoke quietly, with her keen ears, Elain missed little. It was clear that the affection the two women shared was much more than that of friendship, and she smiled to herself, pleased that her sister had found a companion and mate in this new life.

The bedroom was completely dark when Aerenwen made her way inside. Elain knew the moment her sister's strong instincts told her she wasn't alone in the room, and she watched as she froze, suddenly on alert, the light from the next room through the opening door causing her to appear as a silhouette as she reached for the sword sheathed at her hip.

Elain broke the silence. "Your housecarl may make a damn good soup, but she could use some work on home security," she stated, illuding to the conversation she had just overheard between her sister and Aela.

"By Akatosh, Elain," Aerenwen gasped. "You nearly frightened the life out of me."

Elain watched as her sister hurried over to the small table beneath the eave and lit the lantern, smirking from her spot on the bed.

"How long have you been here?" Aerenwen asked.

"Since last night," Elain replied with a smile. "I helped myself to some food earlier when Lydia and Hamish were out, but otherwise, I've sat right here awaiting your return."

Aerenwen shook her head and finally smiled, taking a seat beside her sister and embracing her. "How did you find me?"

"I was sent on a fool's errand by a daedric lord," Elain informed her with a chuckle. "While in Whiterun a few days ago, a woman I spoke with, Ysolda, a merchant?"

Aerenwen nodded to show she knew who her sister was referring to.

"She commented on how much I looked like an acquaintance of hers aside from my dark hair. I asked some questions and discovered it was you. After I finished up the business with Sanguine, I returned and asked around. It wasn't hard to find out the newest warrior in the Companion's ranks, the Jarl's new champion, Thane of Whiterun, and possible Dragonborn was an Altmer woman named Aerenwen. A drunk at the inn blabbed your whole story, and I've been here ever since. I assumed you'd return sooner or later."

"Only you would greet a long lost sister by hiding out in her bedroom," Aerenwen replied with a chuckle.

Elain shrugged. "I was actually planning to come to go to Solitude to look for you," she stated. "I ran into a friend of yours outside of Helgen and knew you had survived the dragon mess there. For a time, it was the only news of any of you I had received."

"A friend of mine?" Aerenwen asked.

"Ralof," Elain replied. "It was just after the attack. I arrived in Helgen only to discover it in ruins. They were in the midst of a clean up effort, and there were Thalmor present, so I stuck to the shadows around the town while I tried to plan my next move. Ralof was lurking in the shadows as well, and he also noted our resemblance, so he approached me. I ended up traveling with him and his party to Windhelm where I've made my home, at least for the time being."

"Yes, I just ran into Nesta in Ivarstead," Aerenwen explained. "She told me you solved some murders and were granted the title of Thane."

Elain smirked. "I think Ulfric nearly had an aneurism having to give a title to an Altmer, but the townsfolk think so highly of me, even the Nords, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter."

Aerenwen chuckled. "I found him . . . off putting."

"That's putting it mildly," Elain replied. "Now tell me, how did you go from being nearly executed by the Imperial Legion to becoming a Thane and a member of the renowned Companions?"

"Well, from Ralof you must have heard the beginning of my tale," her sister replied. "I was captured and sentenced to be executed with the rebels at Helgen. Then the dragon attacked. After Ralof and I were separated, I came across the boy, Hamish, and an Imperial Lieutenant called Hadvar. We escaped the chaos together and found our way to Riverwood where Hadvar's family lives. They aided us and have become dear friends of mine. As a thank you for all their help, I traveled to Whiterun to warn the Jarl of the dragon because of Riverwood's proximity to Helgen. I encountered a group of Companion's outside the city and helped them take down a giant. Aela recommended I join them, and though I didn't rush to do so, I found a friend in her and am now amongst their ranks. I retrieved a relic from a nearby burial cairn for the Jarl's wizard and killed a dragon not far from the city, earning myself the Thaneship and this house. Something odd happened to me when I killed the dragon, and the guards called me Dragonborn. I had no idea what that meant, but Aela explained it a bit, and we've just returned from Ivarstead where I climbed the 7,000 steps to study with the Greybeards at High Hrothgar. It's been intense."

Elain chuckled. "Sounds it," she replied. "And from what I heard of the conversation a few moments ago, I'm assuming you found more than friendship with this Aela."

Aerenwen actually blushed, causing Elain to smirk widely. "She's amazing, Lainy," her sister answered in a soft voice. "I've never met anyone like her. I always saw myself spending my years alone, but when I look to my future now, I see her fighting at my side."

Elain smiled, immensely pleased for her sister.

"What about you?" Aerenwen wondered. "Who's been warming your bed since arriving to Skyrim?"

The darker haired Altmer chuckled. "No one with long term potential," she replied. "Your friend Ralof did so for a night, but his performance wasn't worthy of a repeat despite his many efforts."

Aerenwen chuckled and shook her head.

"Sanguine apparently gave me quite the ride, though I've little memory of it."

At that, Aerenwen's amber-colored eyes widened.

"And there's a priestess of Dibella in Markarth who I will definitely be visiting again when my travels bring me in that direction," Elain finished.

"Tell me what else you've been up to," Aerenwen requested. "Especially your dealings with Sanguine."

After telling her tale, the two sisters readied themselves for bed. Aerenwen confessed she wouldn't be telling her housecarl that Elain had been there in her absence. She didn't want Lydia to feel she had failed in protecting the home because, as Aerenwen admitted, she didn't believe anyone other than Elain could have gotten passed the ever-alert housecarl.

They climbed beneath the furs in Aerenwen's large bed together and discussed the siblings they had found and where they thought Steffen may be.

"I'm really glad you're here," Aerenwen said with a smile, holding her sister's hand beneath her blanket.

"Me too," Elain replied.

* * *

Elain spent the next day getting shown around Whiterun by her sister and meeting her friends. She absolutely adored Hamish and doted on the boy, extremely proud when he began calling her "Auntie Lainy". Aela was a beautiful woman whose strength and bravery were obvious just by her appearance. Elain was surprised but absolutely thrilled to see the love and devotion that had already developed between her sister and the Huntress. She couldn't have picked a better much for her lone wolf of a sister if she'd tried, and like when she had encountered Glenys, a weight was lifted off her shoulder knowing that Aerenwen, no matter how good at protecting herself she was, had someone close who adored her and would always have her back.

The Altmer woman left Whiterun before sunrise with the intent of returning in a few days' time to accompany Aerenwen and Aela on an adventure to an ancient tomb as part of her sister's training with the Greybeards. She hired a carriage and was back in Windhelm by early afternoon. She retrieved her horse, whom she had affectionately named Llewy, and began the long journey to Falkreath in the south.

It was well after dark before Elain arrived in Falkreath. She secured herself a room at the inn and found a seat in a dark corner to enjoy her meal and a glass of wine. She watched the townsfolk come and go, content to remain in the shadows. Her sister entered and was greeted warmly by the patrons. Elain watched as Mari got herself some food, greeted the barmaid who gazed at the other woman with heart eyes, and took a seat with a couple of men she seemed to know.

It was some time before Mari realized she was being watched. Elain knew the moment she recognized her as she broke into a grin and hurried to her feet.

"I swear to the gods if you are just going to sit there and stare creepily at me all night without saying so much as a 'hello', I'll turn you into a pig," she stated as she stood in front her dark haired sister with her hands fisted on her hips.

Elain laughed loudly at that and stood, embracing her sister.

"How did you find me?" the shorter Altmer woman asked.

"Aerenwen," Elain explained. "I found her in Whiterun, and she told me where to find you."

Mari led her sister out of the inn, claiming there were too many ears there for catching up. Elain followed her through the dark streets of the small town until they arrived at a wooden building at the edge of a cemetery. They sat on the building's small porch.

"What is this place?" Elain asked, looking around at the massive cemetery sprawling amongst the trees before them. The headstones were barely discernible in the twilight.

"The Hall of the Dead," Mari replied, "and also the home of my dear friends Runil and Kust. They rescued me and nursed me back to health. They're the only ones that know the truth of who I am and how we were separated. As far as anyone else is concerned, Runil is my uncle, and I am visiting him from the Imperial City."

"He's an Altmer, then?"

Mari nodded. "He served as a battlemage during the Great War and had to flee as a fugitive from the Thalmor when he refused to continue serving them afterwards. He ended up here and devoted himself to Arkay. He's spent years serving as the town's priest and tending the graveyard. It's the biggest in Skyrim, I'm told," she added. "Full of war heroes and great leaders."

"You trust him?" Elain asked.

"I do," Mari replied.

"Good. Now how on Nirn did you end up in Falkreath?"

"I really have no idea," Mari answered with a chuckle. "I was wounded in the skirmish between the Imperials and Stormcloaks, an arrow to my abdomen," she pointed to the spot beneath her simple dress. "Someone was guiding me because I have no idea how I made it through the mountains while I was weak, delirious, and bleeding out. I passed out in the cemetery here, and Runil and Kust found me and nursed me back to health. I'm now working and staying at Corpselight Farm, just up the road, but I still spend a great deal of time here with my friends. I've been saving up coin to travel to Winterhold. I'd like to continue my studies at the mage's college there. I haven't seen much adventure, though I did gain Hircine's favor by killing a werewolf."

Elain's eyes widened, but Mari didn't share any more, so she caught her sister up on her own adventures since arriving in Skyrim.

The sisters caught up until the wee hours of the morning, and Mari was thrilled to learn that Elain was going to spend the weekend there. By Sundas, it was as if no time had passed between the sisters. Their goodbyes were bittersweet, but there were no tears. If they had found each other again after everything they'd been through, they knew their time apart would not be permanent.


	11. Ustengrav

Chapter Five: Ustengrav (Morndas, 22nd of Hearthfire; Tirdas, 23rd of Hearthfire)

Elain, Aerenwen, and Aela arrived in the town of Morthal close to dinner time. It was a small town tucked between a snow-covered mountain range and the salt marshes off the Sea of Ghosts, much of the town built upon the edge of these marshes with raised wooden platforms serving as walkways to avoid stepping on the soft, wet earth.

The town had obviously seen its better days. The buildings were rundown, and the residents appeared downtrodden. The atmosphere about Morthal was dismal, and the air humid yet cold, causing the women to shiver from the cool dampness that seemed to permeate their armor and settle into their bones.

Moorside Inn was a humble establishment, not unlike the other small inns throughout Skyrim, though it was run by a Redguard woman who introduced herself as Jonna. She was extremely accommodating, and the tomato soup and fresh bread she served the women for their dinner was excellent. Aela and Aerenwen rented a room with a double bed, and Elain rented a smaller room on the opposite side of the inn. The three then spent the evening at a table near the fire, enjoying libations and conversation and trying their best to ignore the sounds of the ill-talented Orc bard the inn employed.

It was close to midnight before the women decided to retire for the night. They had just stood from their table when they were approached by a Nord man of middle age.

"Excuse me," he said. "Jonna told me your names were Aerenwen and Elain. Is that correct?"

The women were immediately on edge, wondering why he was asking. After all, they were wanted fugitives. They instinctively placed their hands a bit closer to the weapons sheathed at their hips but didn't move to grab them. After all, what were the chances of a Nord laborer in the far north of Skyrim spying for the Thalmor?

"That is correct," Elain answered. "Who's asking?"

"Forgive me," the man replied, "I am Jorgen. I run the lumbermill here in Morthal, and I just felt you must be Steffen's sisters. There's a resemblance, and I doubt the chances of two High Elf women traveling together with those names that weren't the ones he'd spoken of would be very high."

The women relaxed at this, no longer on guard but alert with curiosity as to how this man knew their brother.

"You know Steffen?" Aerenwen asked in surprise at the exact same moment Elain wondered "Is he here?"

"I do know Steffen," Jorgen replied, "but he isn't here. He's a close friend of my daughter Illdi's, and they visited last month for Harvest's End. He told us of his sisters, and my wife and I promised to do what we could to help find you. He and my daughter are both students at the Bards' College in Solitude."

"Thank you for telling us this," Aerenwen replied with a smile. "All of our sisters are accounted for, but we hadn't had any word of Steffen until now, so we were quite worried for him."

"I'll be happy to send word to him by currier that I saw you here," Jorgen offered. "He is worried about you all as well."

"Thank you, but that shouldn't be necessary," Elain replied. "We have an errand to run in the area tomorrow, but afterwards, I was actually planning to head to Solitude to check out the college for myself. We suspected he may be there."

Jorgen smiled at that. "You all know each other very well. Our biggest lead in finding you was to check out the Companions in Whiterun to see if you were there," he explained to Aerenwen. "I sent a letter to my sister, Hulde, a few weeks ago but haven't received a reply yet. I'd begun to worry she wasn't well."

"Hulde is well," Aela replied with a smile, knowing the innkeeper quite a bit. "Overworked and a bit too nosey for her own good, but she is doing fine. I'm sure the currier was just delayed with the war and the dragons about."

Jorgen nodded. "I'm happy to hear that. And it is an honor to be in the presence of two Companions of Whiterun. Could I buy you three ladies a drink?"

"Thank you, Jorgen," Aerenwen replied, "but we must decline. We need to be on the road early in the morning and were just calling it a night."

"Although if our errand goes well," Elain added, "we may take you up on that in celebration tomorrow night."

Jorgen chuckled and bid the ladies good night.

Elain felt at peace that night - completely so - for the first time since arriving in Skyrim. Though she wouldn't be fully satisfied until she had seen her brother with her own eyes, at least now she knew of the location of all her siblings and that he was safe.

* * *

"Are you sure this is it?" Elain asked as the women dismounted their horses beside the mound Aela claimed was Ustengrav. The area was rather unremarkable, a stone mound with a large hole in the center, and a few standing stones located nearby, some of which had fallen over after years of disrepair. "It doesn't look like much."

"A lot of these ancient barrows are like that," Aela explained. "The outside is deceiving, but it's quite amazing how far into the depths of the earth the ancients traversed. These tombs are probably only rivaled by the dwarves when it comes to underground architecture."

"The dwarves?" Aerenwen questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

"Elves," the Nord answered. "They built underground cities throughout Skyrim and Morrowind, but their entire race completely disappeared over a thousand years ago."

"Ah, the Dwemer," Elain replied.

Aerenwen nodded. "We know a bit about them. Glenys found them fascinating, and it was impossible for some of her knowledge not to rub off on us."

"That would explain what drew her to Markarth," Aela replied. "The city is built within an ancient dwarven ruin."

Elain followed the other two women over the edge of the burrow's outcrop and down the stairwell that wound around the circular edge of the opening. An iron door greeted them at the bottom.

At first, Ustengrav was not terribly exciting: stone tunnels leading between burial chambers; the occasional large room with ruins of once intricate carvings and architecture, most of which were dragon-themed. Nearly every draugr, frostbite spider, and skeever they came across was already dead, and Elain's feeling of uneasiness began to grow.

"Someone else has been here," she commented after a time.

Aerenwen nodded in agreement.

"Recently," Aela added, "from the looks of it."

After some time, the trio of women came across another iron door. Passing through it brought them into the depths of Ustengrav, a large natural cavern lit by glowing mushrooms and other iridescent fungi on the walls and ceiling, giving the room an unnaturally bright glow. A large tree somehow grew in the deepest portion of the area, surrounded by a waterfall and flowing natural spring.

They took quite some time exploring this area of the ruin, finding several small rooms and tunnels located off the large, open cavern. Though all turned out to be dead ends, they discovered a good sum of valuable loot they would split between the three of them when their journey was complete. In these rooms, they came across a few still-roaming draugr, hinting at the fact that whomever had traveled through previously had taken the most direct route through the barrow and hadn't had an interest in truly exploring. The unknown adventurer had a clear intent for visiting Ustengrav, and this made Elain even more uneasy.

Her sister, apparently, agreed.

"Whoever was here wasn't an adventurer or treasure hunter," Aerenwen commented as they took a break sitting upon the edge of the cavern, looking down over the waterfall. "They were here to get something specific, and I have a sneaking suspicion, the horn may not be where it's supposed to be."

"What use could anyone else have with the horn of Jurgen Windcaller?" Elain wondered.

Aerenwen shrugged. "Monetary value? I'd gather there are a great many scholars in Skyrim who might pay a pretty septim for a piece with that sort of historical value."

"Or it could be they knew you would be sent here," Aela interjected. "For some reason, someone may not want the Dragonborn to have the horn, or we could be walking into a trap. We need to be especially alert."

Elain agreed. She noticed a large carved stone wall down beside the small pool at the base of the waterfall. "What's that?" she wondered.

The others followed her gaze into the depths of the cavern below, noticing the curved stone wall with the visage of a dragon atop it.

"That," Aerenwen replied, "is one of the word walls, sister."

Elain's eyes widened in excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, eager to see the odd thing that happened to her sister when approaching one of those walls. She wasn't about to let Nesta one up her by having experienced that when she could see it for herself.

* * *

After visiting the wall and watching in amazement as Aerenwen was encompassed by swirling lights emanating from it, the three women retraced their steps to the top of the cavern and began to look for the way deeper into the barrow.

Three short, stone columns etched with the ancient language stood before a set of three closed iron doors. After some experimenting, they discovered that standing beside each column opened the corresponding gate, however, none of them could run quickly enough to make it through the gates before they crashed down in front of them.

"I can use the shout the Greybeards taught me," Aerenwen finally decided, "and hope that once I get on the other side, there will be another way to open the gates to let you two through."

They agreed this was their only course of action, and each took their place beside a column, causing the columns and the ground around them to glow with an ethereal light, and the three gates to open.

Aerenwen took a deep breath and shouted, and Elain watched in awe as she traveled so quickly she was simply a blur, becoming visible again on the opposite side of the now closed gates. She found releases for the gates, allowing the other two women to follow her up a set of stone steps.

At the top of the steps was a large room full of stone columns and recently hatched frostbite spiders. As they readied for battle, the frostbite spiders took care of themselves, revealing that the floor of the room was full of flame spout traps and slowly igniting themselves as they approached the women. The spiders taken care of with little effort on their part, the women made their way around the edge of the room, avoiding the traps, and following a tunnel that ended in another closed gate.

This time Elain found the pull chain that opened it, and the women found themselves in a large room. A stone bridge passed through the center of the room ahead of them, water on each side of it, ending at a large alter on the far side.

As they slowly made their way across the bridge, large, stone dragon heads emerged from the water around them. Upon reaching the alter, it was clear that they had been right. A decorative display area for the horn was located atop what was obviously the tomb of Jurgen Windcaller, but there was no horn there. In its place was a folded piece of paper.

Aerenwen studied the paper in the dim light of the room and read its hastily scrawled contents to her companions.

 _Dragonborn -_

 _I need to speak to you. Urgently._

 _Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you._

 _\- a friend_

"Looks like you were right," Elain stated to Aela. "Someone knew the Greybeards would send the Dragonborn to fetch this horn and beat us to it."

"I guess I'll be stopping at the Sleeping Giant when I return to Riverwood to pick up Hamish," Aerenwen stated, glancing around the room in frustration.

"I'm coming with you," Aela insisted.

Aerenwen raised a single eyebrow at the huntress. "Do you really think that's necessary? You've spent a great deal of time running this errand with me already. It's one thing for me to take time away from our responsibilities at Jorrvaskr to run personal errands, but you're needed there."

"It could be a trap, Ren," Aela replied. "We don't know who this 'friend'," she said the word with a great deal of suspicion, "is or what it is they want with you."

"I realize that, Aela," the elf replied, "but we also know the chances of this mysterious person revealing themselves if I show up with others are probably slim to none. I know you're concerned, but they've set a public place as the meeting spot. I'm gathering they just want to talk, and if that's not the case, you know I can handle myself. I have friends in Riverwood. I will make sure they are aware of where I am going, and if they have any reason to be concerned, I will make sure they know to contact you."

Aela frowned, knowing that Aerenwen was right but not liking the situation one bit. "What if I go with you but stay with Sigrid?" she asked. "I won't show myself at the inn, but then I will be close by if something happens, and you need me."

Aerenwen smiled. "I can agree to that."

Elain had watched her sister and the huntress volley back and forth with a smirk. Aela's devotion to her sister had impressed the elf and earned her respect, and she found it amusing that Aerenwen had met her match when it came to stubborn courageousness. "Alright," she said, standing from the spot where she had been sitting at the edge of the alter and clapping her hands. "So let's get the hell out of here. I, for one, am tired of breathing in this musty, dead air, and I think we've earned that drink we were promised upon our return to Morthal."

The other two women agreed, and they quickly found a secret exit from the room and made their way back to the surface.


	12. Solitude

Chapter Six: Solitude (Middas, 24th of Hearthfire thru Tirdus, 30th of Hearthfire)

Solitude was a beautiful city, and Elain found herself wishing for a time that fate had brought her there instead of Windhelm. The sun was warm, the sky clear, and the air smelled of the sea. The buildings were beautiful, echoing the Imperial style, and while Windhelm's architecture was beautiful in a different way, here blinding snow squalls didn't interrupt her ability to admire it.

Elain found the marketplace quite easily and got directions for the Bard's College from a woman who was browsing the stands. The college was an ornate building with guilded, stained glass windows, and she made her way inside, stopping in the reception area. At first glance, she didn't see anyone around, so she pulled a chord near the door after reading the sign asking visitors to ring the bell.

The low peel of a bell sounded, and soon she was joined in the room by an Altmer man with bright red hair. He smiled at her.

"Welcome to the Bard's College. I am Viarmo, headmaster," he stated. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm actually here to see someone," she replied, not certain how willing the man would be to give up information on one of his students. "Steffen."

The high elf raised an eyebrow and seemed to study her more closely. "Of course," he replied. "I will go and retrieve him for you."

Elain sighed in relief and took a seat on one of the wooden benches while she waited. It wasn't long before her brother made his appearance.

"Elain!" he gasped, rushing to her. They embraced when she stood.

Elain was pleased by her brother's appearance. He looked healthy and well-groomed and had thankfully gained back the weight he had lost while being starved and tortured in Thalmor custody.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"A man called Jorgen in Morthal," she replied.

He turned toward the headmaster who was lingering nearby, obviously making sure the visitor was someone Steffen wished to see and not an unwelcomed guest. "Viarmo, this is one of my sisters, Elain. We were separated upon arriving in Skyrim, and I wasn't sure what had become of her."

Viarmo smiled. "This is a joyful reunion then," he commented. "I'll leave you both to catch up."

Steffen thanked him and joined Elain on the bench she had previously been sitting on. "You were in Morthal?"

Elain nodded. "Aerenwen and I were just passing through," she explained, "and we met Jorgen at the inn. He recognized our names from you telling him about us, so he approached and told us where you were. Aerenwen sends her regards but was unable to make the trip at this time. She's a member of the Companions in Whiterun and doing quite well for herself. She's earned herself the title of Thane and owns a home there. She adopted a young boy who was orphaned at Helgen and has found a life partner in one of her fellow Companions. They haven't said as much, and it's a bit soon, but I suspect we'll all be attending a wedding ceremony before too long. I've never seen Aerenwen so smitten, and Aela clearly returns her affections. She's a good woman and a good match for our sister."

Steffen grinned. "Do you have news of any of the others?"

"All of them," Elain replied, smiling at his relief. "Nesta has found a home in Riften. She's a member of the Thieves Guild," she added quietly, "and also doing quite well. She was in Windhelm on business and has been staying at my home."

"You own a home in Windhelm?" Steffen asked.

Elain nodded and explained to her brother what had transpired in her life since their separation.

"What about the others? Glenys?"

"She's well," Elain answered. "She's Thane of the Reach and has a home in Markarth where she lives with her housecarl and a warrior who has won her heart. Both strong, loyal men. She's being well taken care of and is absolutely in her element with all the history in the city.

"Mari has been in Falkreath, but I just left her a few days ago, and she's planning to travel north to Winterhold at the end of the month," she continued. "She's hoping to be accepted at the mage's college there in order to finish her studies."

Steffen sighed. "I am so glad everyone is alive and doing so well," he stated, his relief evident. "I have worried about you all immensely and have been stricken with guilt. We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me."

Elain silenced him. "Don't take this all on yourself. In truth, if it weren't for our family's history, we wouldn't have all been implicated by your actions. The blame isn't necessarily any one of ours, nor our parents', and if it weren't for the Thalmor, this wouldn't be an issue. They're the ones at fault behind this. Not us."

Steffen nodded.

"No one holds you accountable, Steffen," Elain assured him. "I think we all are in agreement that fate has brought us to Skyrim for a reason and that our separation was a necessary hardship in order to find our own paths. Now we know that we're all finding success in doing so, and we'll continue on living our separate lives, touching base when we're able. Now tell me. How did you end up here?"

"I got lost," he replied with a shrug. "I didn't know where any of you were, and I was walking in circles. I came across a bard called Talsgar the Wanderer, and he told me what happened with the dragon at Helgen, so I feared you all dead. I traveled with him, and when we got here, I applied to the college. I thought, perhaps, I'd finally found a place where my talents would actually be useful. I've never been a warrior or an adventurer like you, Aerenwen, and Nesta, and I'm not nearly as book smart as Glenys or as talented with magicka as Mari. I've finally found a place where my musical talent and ability to weave a good tale will help me find success, and I'm thriving."

Elain was thrilled by this and wrapped her arm around her brother affectionately.

A clock in the corner chimed, indicating the hour, and Steffen stood. "I have class soon," he informed her. "I'm afraid I can't invite you in any further. Only members of the college and staff are allowed beyond the reception area, but I'll pay for a room for you at the inn."

Elain assured him that she had plenty of coin and that wasn't necessary. They made plans to meet at the inn for dinner, and Elain wandered outside into the beautiful weather, eager to explore the city.

* * *

Steffen surprised his sister by arriving at the inn with another person in tow. Illdi was a pretty young Nord woman with dark hair and a nice figure, and while her brother had introduced her as a dear friend, Elain gathered, based on the girl's sidelong glances at her brother and the affection she saw in his eyes, that there was more brewing there than simple friendship. She discovered that Illdi was Jorgen's daughter, and the reason Steffen had traveled to Morthal to spend Harvest's End.

The three sat at a secluded table in the corner and caught up, laughing and sharing tales well into the night.

Elain spent a week in Solitude, getting to know the city and spending all the time she could with her brother, and sometimes Illdi, whenever their class schedules allowed it. She explored some caves and took out a few bandits for the bounty, and she staked out the Thalmor Embassy on a nearby mountain. It was good to be familiar with your enemy's location after all. She sent word via currier to all her sisters, informing them of Steffen's location and that they were all accounted for.

She planned to return home the following day, a week after arriving in Skyrim's capital, and after sharing a final dinner with Steffen and Illdi, she retired to her room at the inn. All evening she'd had an odd feeling, as if she were being watched, and she was eager to head out at sun's first light.

 **Author's Note: That's the end of the second part of Elain's story. Glenys is up next. It may take me a little longer on updates for this portion as I'm still working on it and only have the first few chapters completed.**


	13. Abducted

**Previously in Elain's story - After being separated from her siblings, she encountered Ralof, a Stormcloak rebel, and traveled with him and his comrades back to Windhelm. There, she solved a murder, earned a title and home, killed a woman for a little boy, caused some debauchery with a Daedric lord, and found her siblings scattered throughout the province. Most recently, she was visiting her brother, Steffen, in Solitude and couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched . . .**

Part Three: Frostfall

Chapter One: Abducted (Middas, First of Frostfall)

Elain slowly awoke, realizing that her head felt fuzzy. It was not nearly as bad as it had been after the night with Sanguine but more akin to when she'd awoken from an unnaturally deep sleep after a few too many glasses of wine.

Aside from her thick head, she quickly realized the sounds around her weren't what she should be hearing. Unlike the sounds of a bustling city inn that she'd been awakening to while visiting Solitude, she could hear the sounds of wildlife as if she were in the middle of the wilderness.

Elain groaned as she opened her eyes and glanced around, realizing that she wasn't, in fact, at The Winking Skeever. She was in a rundown structure of some sort, lying on an uncomfortable cot. The blankets around her smelled musty and mildewed, and the roof and walls of the wooden building had gaping holes within them in several places. Where they were solid, they appeared to be covered with blood spatter.

"Sleep well?"

The unfamiliar woman's voice startled her, though thanks to her quick reflexes and good instincts, Elain was able to retain a stoic facade and not show her surprise.

"Where am I?" Elain asked, sitting up in the bed. She realized she was still wearing the leather armor she'd gone to bed in, but her weapons were nowhere in sight.

"Does it matter?" the voice asked. Elain finally located the source of it. A woman wearing unusual armor that covered her entire body sat atop a tall wardrobe in the corner. Her face and hair were hidden by a black cowl. On her hands she wore black gloves. On her feet were black boots. The armor she wore left not even an inch of skin showing, and the red and black combination of material hugged her curves. And what curves . . . this unknown woman had a striking figure, and while Elain was not at ease with these unexpected circumstances, she did allow herself a moment to appreciate the sight of the woman addressing her as she sat casually, her arms crossed over an ample bust, one leg bent at the knee and the other hanging down and slowly swinging back and forth as if this woman didn't have a care in the world. "You're warm and dry and very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod, hmm?"

Ah, so this was about the murder of the orphanage keeper. But why?

"How do you know about that?" Elain asked, trying to ascertain what this woman's connection to Grelod was.

"Half of Skyrim knows about it," the woman replied with a shrug. Along with her figure, the woman's voice was extremely attractive. Low and smooth, and Elain found herself, despite the predicament, wondering what her face looked like. "Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around. Oh, but don't misunderstand, Elain. I'm not criticizing. It was a good kill. Old crone had it coming, and you saved a group of urchins to boot.

"Ah, but there is a slight . . . problem," the woman continued. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me and my associates. Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract - a kill that you stole. A kill that you must repay."

So this woman was with the Dark Brotherhood. That explained the situation a bit - how she knew so many of the details, her appearance, the manner in which Elain had been taken. Elain knew that the Brotherhood had eyes everywhere somehow and that their methods of infiltration were unsurpassed, but she hadn't been aware they were still active. People still invoked them, of course, but it had been years since a kill had undoubtedly been linked to them and even longer since a high profile murder had been attributed to their organization.

"And how would I do that?" Elain wondered. She stood then, discreetly stretching. She had no idea what this woman's plan was for her. She'd obviously been drugged in order to be brought from the inn to this place in her sleep, and she wanted to ensure she had all her wits about her.

"Well now, funny you should ask," the woman replied. Elain suspected she wore a smirk beneath her cowl. "If you turn around, you'll see my guests."

Elain did as instructed and saw three people on their knees in the straw against the far wall. Their hands were bound, and they all wore black execution hoods over their heads.

"I've collected them from . . . well, that's not important," the woman said with a chuckle. She jumped down from the rafters and stepped closer to Elain.

This mysterious assassin was only a bit shorter than the Altmer, so most likely a Nord. Definitely not a fellow elf based upon the shape and coloring of her eyes which Elain could now see were a bright blue.

"The here and now, that's what matters," the woman continued. "You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that person can't leave this room alive. But . . . which one? Go on," she nodded toward the prisoners, "see if you can figure it out. Make your choice."

So she needed to determine which one of these prisoners had a contract out on their head.

Elain stepped forward toward the first prisoner. This one was a muscular man wearing scaled armor. She nudged him with her booted foot. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Fultheim," he replied. "I'm a soldier. Well, a mercenary, really. You know, a sellsword. I've lived in Skyrim all my life. That's all! I'm nobody, really, so can't you just let me go?"

"Can you think of anyone who would want you dead?" Elain asked.

"What?" he replied, the fear in his voice evident. "Oh gods, I don't want to die!"

"Shhhh," Elain cooed in a low comforting voice. It was a voice she'd used before to lull people she was threatening into a false sense of security. She knelt down, so she was speaking near the prisoner's ear. "Don't be afraid. You can tell me."

"Well, I guess someone wanting me dead is possible," the man answered, seeming a bit more calm. "I've been selling my sword arm for years now. Killed a lot of people. Could be someone wanting revenge. Why am I here? Is this about that raid last week? I told Holgrim there was no honor in killing sleeping men, but he wouldn't listen! It wasn't my fault, I swear!"

Elain shushed him again, laying her hand upon his head. She then walked to the second prisoner. This one was a woman, obviously a Nord by her build and skin tone.

"Who are you?" Elain asked after nudging her in the same way as she had done with the first.

"None of your damned business who I am!" the woman replied, and Elain suspected she would've been spit on if the woman wasn't wearing the hood. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already! As Mara is my witness, if I didn't have this damn hood on right now, I would spit right in your face!"

Elain chuckled. Her instincts had proven to be right once again.

"Can you think of anyone who might want you killed?" she asked.

"Excuse me? What kind of question is that?"

Elain didn't bother using the same techniques of persuasion she'd used with the man. This woman wasn't afraid. She was angry. "One last time," she stated, her voice even but cold. "Would someone pay to have you killed?"

"I'm guessing since I'm kneeling here with my hands bound and a sack over my head, the answer is probably yes," the woman replied sarcastically. "Have I made some enemies in my life? You're damn right. I don't have time for this! I have children to feed! When I get out of here, you're dead! You hear me? Dead!" She screamed and tried to lunge for Elain, and the elf kicked her back.

She quieted down after that, allowing Elain to continue on to the final prisoner. This one was a male Khajiit wearing fine clothes. His tail twitched agitatedly behind him.

Elain nudged him. "Who are you?"

"Ahhh . . . Vasha at your service," he replied in purr. "Obtainer of goods, taker of lives, and defiler of daughters. Have you not heard of Vasha? Perhaps this one will have his people carve his name into your corpse as a reminder."

Elain didn't even have to ask. She had no doubt there were people on Nirn who wanted this man dead, but she couldn't say the others were much better. In truth, she was a hypocrite to judge anyone.

Fultheim was a coward. He took lives for money and yet whimpered like a child when his own life was at stake. Elain didn't abide by the honor code of warriors. She, too, had killed people in their sleep, but this man attempted to live a certain way of life and yet didn't adhere to the morals of it. She wouldn't be surprised if there were people out there that wanted him dead.

As for the woman, she was miserable and admitted herself that people probably wanted her killed. Elain gathered she probably wasn't very good to her children either, but should she make them orphans?

"So which one?" the masked assassin asked, appearing beside her. She passed Elain a dagger which surprised the elf, considering she could just as easily turn on her captor now that she was armed. She gathered this mysterious woman was quite confident in her own skills. "Make your choice. Make your kill, and you get to walk away."

In the end, Elain slit both men's throats and left the woman alive. She didn't know if she truly had a contract on her head or not, and if she did, there was always the chance the Dark Brotherhood would still kill her, but Elain wasn't going to be responsible for creating orphans just because the woman was unpleasant without more substantial evidence against her.

The assassin seemed pleased as she took the dagger back from Elain and wiped the blood off with a thin cloth. "I would like to officially extend to you an invitation to join my family, The Dark Brotherhood," she stated. "In the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, you'll find the entrance to our sanctuary. It's just beneath the road, hidden from view. When questioned by the Black Door, answer with the correct passphrase, 'Silence, my brother'. Then you're in, and your new life begins."

With that, she approached the one surviving prisoner. She used the dagger to cut the binds on her hands and feet. "Wait five minutes before removing your hood and then you're free to go," she stated, gripping the woman tightly by her arms. "Consider yourself lucky to be leaving here alive. The gods have given you another chance, but always remember - The Dark Brotherhood knows who you are, and we're always watching."

She stood and turned back to Elain. "You have five minutes to leave or that one will see your face, and judging from the circumstances in which she made your acquaintance, I doubt you would like that. Your belongings are in the chest by the door. I'll see you at home."

She disappeared through the door, and Elain was quick to retrieve her belongings and wander outside herself.

It was mid-morning, judging by the height of the sun, and she stood on some soggy ground in the midst of a large marsh. Judging from her knowledge of Skyrim's geography, she was probably south of Morthal. The marshes to the north would be colder and less friendly feeling, or so she'd heard. She decided which direction was north and wandered that way, hoping to come across a road before too long.

It appeared she had a decision to make.


	14. Dawnstar

Chapter Two: Dawnstar (Middas, First of Frostfall, Turdas, Second of Frostfall)

It seemed to take hours before Elain found her way out of the marsh. By the time she reached the cobblestone road, she was soaked and dirty from wading through the shallow water. She decided she was further west than she had originally thought, especially since she'd had to veer off her course of dew north quite a bit in order to traverse the wet ground and avoid deeper pools of water.

She'd been walking for some time, allowing the early afternoon sun to dry her hair and armor when a dog blocked her path. He was a large dog and gray in color. He looked to be one of the ones bred outside Markarth that her sister had been eyeing. Elain knew that breed could be fierce, but this one seemed friendly as it stood in the road. It barked at her and wagged its tail.

"Hey pup," she cooed as she slowly stepped forward, palms raised. "What are you doing way out here all by yourself?"

The dog tilted its head and gazed at her, but when she was within a few feet of it, it barked again and bounded off into the wooded area to her right. Elain thought, perhaps, he was leaving her and was surprised when he stopped just within the treeline and barked at her a few times. He seemed to want her to follow, and figuring she didn't have much to lose, she did so.

A short distance into the treeline, a small cabin came into view. The door was ajar, and she followed the dog inside. It was a one-room cabin. A table and some bookshelves sat on one side, and a small bed on the other. Upon the bed laid a man, and the dog sat on the floor beside him and rested his head atop his leg with a whine.

Elain approached slowly. To most, the man would've appeared asleep, but Elain could tell by his pallor and also by the few flies swarming in the room that he was most likely dead. She checked for a pulse and confirmed her assumption, laying a hand on the dog's head and scratching him behind the ear.

"Your master died, huh?" she commented sadly. "What a good boy, " she confirmed that statement by discreetly glancing between the dog's legs, "to try to get help like that. I'm sorry I was too late to save him."

Elain wandered around the cabin then. She pocketed a few coins and a couple of books as well as some food that was still fresh. She gathered the man hadn't been dead for more than a few days. She found the dead man's journal on a stand at the foot of the bed, and after skimming it, she discovered the man knew he had succumbed to Rockjoint. He had lamented in his writings over leaving the dog, Meeko, alone because he had been such a good companion but felt that he'd be able to take care of himself.

Meeko, it seemed, had done just that. He wasn't starving or sickly by any means, though he did look a bit thinner than he should have. His loyalty had caused him to not leave his master's side, but Elain wondered if she could change that.

She returned the journal to where she had found it and wandered over toward the door. She turned back and looked at the dog. "Meeko," she stated.

He tilted his head in curiosity.

"Do you want to come with me, boy?"

The dog seemed to understand her and stood, his tail wagging.

She wandered outside, and he followed. They found the road again and continued east.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Elain had passed Morthal, but she knew Dawnstar was just a few hours away, so despite her exhaustion, she pressed on, hoping to get that much further east before nightfall. She thought longingly of her horse still stabled in Solitude. She had considered going back for it but had decided against it. She was glad now because although it meant she had to cross Skyrim on foot, she probably wouldn't have found Meeko if she had, and she was already coming to enjoy the dog's company.

Elain had always had a soft spot for animals. Her mother had practiced her healing skills on animals as well as people, and it hadn't been uncommon for a pet, or even a wild beast, to be convalescing in her childhood home. In ways, Elain preferred animals over people. Their instincts were to survive and to protect their own. They didn't act out of greed or malice. Generally, she felt more remorse when she had to kill an animal than she did when she'd taken a human life.

Dawnstar was a coastal town located between a small harbor and the snowy mountains. It was located at the edge of the same mountain range that Windhelm and Winterhold were located in, and although she'd come and gone from snowy environments on her journey, depending upon the elevation, Dawnstar was covered in snow.

Elain quickly found the inn, and though they made her pay extra, they allowed Meeko to enter with her. She bought dinner and reserved a room for the night and sat down close to the fire to warm her cold, tired bones.

The inn was full of patrons, and Elain was noticing a theme in their conversation. They all seemed to be suffering from a lack of sleep due to horrible and realistic nightmares. It wasn't long before a priest adorned in the robes of the Order of Mara entered the tavern and was immediately accosted by the locals.

"Everyone, please," he stated loudly enough that all those gathered could hear him. "I'm doing what I can to end these nightmares. In the meantime, all I ask is you remain strong and put your trust in Lady Mara." With that, he ordered a drink and sat down at a table a bit withdrawn from the rest.

Intrigued, Elain stood and approached him. "What is wrong with everyone?" she asked, sitting down across from him without being invited. "I heard something about nightmares, and it appears they think you're the cure."

The priest frowned. "You heard correctly," he replied. "The entire town is being plagued by horrible nightmares. They're in serious danger, but I'm afraid there's little I can do about it."

"Danger?" Elain asked. "From nightmares?"

The priest, a Dunmer, nodded gravely. "I'm afraid these are not regular nightmares, my friend. These dreams are manifestations created by the Daedric Lord Vaermina. She has an awful hunger for our memories. In return, she leaves behind nightmares not unlike a cough marks a serious illness. I must end her terrible influence over these people before the damage becomes permanent, but I cannot do it alone."

Elain glanced around the inn, taking in the other people. They all looked absolutely exhausted and miserable. She'd been plagued by nightmares before, and she wouldn't wish it on anyone, not to mention, the thought of your own memories being stolen was horrid. If this priest knew how to stop this, she would help him.

"Do you know how to stop her?" she asked.

He nodded. "I need to return to the source of the problem, Nightcaller Temple," he replied. "Perhaps you'd be willing to assist me in that regard?"

Elain studied the man. He seemed nervous. "Why did you say return?" she asked. "You've been there before?"

"I've already said too much," the Dunmer answered, glancing around nervously. "If anyone hears what we're saying, it could cause a panic. I would simply ask that you trust me and help me to end Dawnstar's nightmares."

The Altmer woman frowned. This priest was hiding something, but nonetheless, she found herself wanting to help the people of Dawnstar. "Alright," she agreed.

"Mara be praised!" the priest exclaimed with a wide smile. "I am Erandur, priest of Mara. Nightcaller Temple is just a short walk from here. Come, we must hurry. I hate for these people to have to endure another night under Vaermina's control."

Elain sighed and scarfed down the rest of her dinner, throwing a few pieces of meat to Meeko, before following the priest out of the inn and into the cold night.

"The tower on that hill is our destination," Erandur stating, pointing to a tall structure silhouetted against the darkening sky as they walked up a steep, snow-covered path. "People around here call it the Tower of the Dawn. I'm not familiar with the tower's history, but it was deserted for quite a long time before Nightcaller Temple was established inside. When the temple was active, the priests would rarely be seen in Dawnstar. They preferred to live a solitary existence. The temple has been abandoned for decades now. Ironic, isn't it? A ruin within a ruin."

Elain hummed out a muttered response to show she was listening but kept her eyes on the trees around them, watching for danger.

"There's a small shrine to Mara I established inside the tower's entry hall," Erandur continued. "I was hoping to seek spiritual guidance from Her. Perhaps my prayers were answered and your reason for stumbling across Dawnstar is more than a mere coincidence. Follow me, it's this way."

He turned up a much steeper path, and Elain followed.

"It feels good to finally have a chance to help these people," he stated with a sigh. "Helplessly watching them suffer has been difficult."

The finally reached the tower, and Erandur stopped outside the entrance.

"Years ago, this temple was raided by an orc war party seeking revenge," he informed her. "They were being plagued by nightmares just like the people of Dawnstar."

"Were they successful?" Elain asked.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "Knowing they could never defeat the orcs, the priests of Vaermina released what they call the Miasma, putting everyone to sleep."

"What does this Miasma do?" Elain wondered.

"The Miasma was created by the priests of Vaermina for their rituals," he explained. "It's a gas that places the affected in a deep sleep. Because the rituals would last for months or even years, the Miasma was designed to slow down the aging process." He glanced toward the door. "I'm concerned that when this place is unsealed, the Miasma will dissipate, and they'll awake, both the orcs and priests alike."

"So, we could be facing angry orcs and priests who have been asleep for decades," Elain concluded, "and the air will be filled with this gas. Is that dangerous in and of itself?"

"Sadly, yes," Erandur replied. "The longer an individual is exposed to the Miasma, the more the mind can become damaged. Those who've been under the effects of it for extended periods of time have been known to lose their minds entirely. In some cases, a few never woke at all."

"So well-rested, crazy orcs and priests then," Elain stated with a nod. "This sounds fun. Are we going to fall asleep?"

"If it dissipates, we won't have to worry about that at all," he replied. "If not, we may not be able to enter the temple."

Elain sighed and motioned toward the door which Erandur opened. They now stood within the entry hall where the shrine to Mara had been set up near the back wall. Erandur walked around the altar and faced the wall.

"Give me just a moment, and I'll have this open," he said, and Elain watched as he cast a spell of flames onto it, and a portal opened.

Elain followed the priest through it and looked around. It looked much like any old fort but with layers of dust on everything. It was clear no one had visited in a very long time.

"Now I can show you the source of the nightmares," Erandur stated, crossing the room. "Behold the Skull of Corruption."

Elain followed him to an open area that seemed to span the height and depth of the tower. At the bottom stood something she could just barely make out, sitting upon a pedestal.

"We must reach the inner sanctum and destroy it," the priest informed her.

"How is this skull doing this without anyone controlling it?" Elain asked, leaning against the stone rail and looking down.

"Lore holds that the Skull of Corruption holds a constant hunger for the memories of others," Erandur replied. "The Skull has been out of touch for so long, I fear it's gained the ability to reach out on its own and try to feed. What it does with those memories is just conjecture and an argument for scholars and historians to this very day."

Elain followed Erandur through the fort. He seemed to know where he was going, and she was convinced that the Dunmer had definitely been there before. They reached a door, but a magical barrier blocked their way.

"Damn it," he muttered. "The priests must have activated this barrier when the Miasma was released."

Elain traced her golden eyes around the age of the barrier. It seemed to block any entrance to the next area of the tower. "Looks difficult to breach."

"Impossible actually," Erandur replied distractedly. "Hmmm . . . I wonder." He seemed to think a few moments before speaking again. "There may be a way to bypass the barrier, but I must check their library and confirm it can be done."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this place," Elain commented as she watched the priest, once again, strike off as if he knew just where he was going.

He stopped and sighed, turning back toward her. "I suppose there's no point in concealing the truth any longer. My knowledge of this temple comes from personal experience. I was a priest of Vaermina."

"I suspected there was more to your story, but I'll admit I hadn't expected that," Elain replied. "You could have told me sooner."

"And what would you have had me say?" Erandur wondered. "Sorry for following the misguided teachings of a mad divine? Sorry for stealing memories from children? Do you realize when the orcs attacked, I was only concerned with myself? I fled and left my brothers and sisters behind to die." He sighed and leaned against the wall. "I've spent the last few decades living in regret and seeking redemption from Mara, and by Her Benevolence, I will right my wrongs. Are you still going to help me?"

"Any more secrets?" Elain asked.

The priest shook his head.

She gestured her hand in the direction he had been walking as if to say, "carry on".

The library was massive and ransacked. Shelves were knocked over, and books and bodies littered the floor. A few of those bodies awoke as the two elves made their way through the stacks, and Elain used her bow and dagger to fight them off while Erandur fought using magical means. After they'd been dealt with, Elain glanced around and realized just how difficult it would be to find anything in all the mess.

"Perhaps if you told me what we're looking for, we could divide and conquer," she suggested.

Erandur nodded his agreement. "We're looking for a book of alchemical recipes called The Dreamstrider. The tome bears the likeness of Vaermina on the cover."

They split up, and as they searched, Elain could hear Erandur muttering to himself. Apparently the library had once held rare books and ancient texts, and now a great deal of them had been destroyed by the fire spells the priests had, no doubt, used against the orcs. She really hoped this book he needed was in tact.

After some time, she found it located on the upper level. She'd had to navigate a few fallen bookshelves and some crumbled ledging to reach it. She called out to Erandur, and by the time she made her way back down, he was waiting for her.

"Let me take a look," he said as he took the book from her and began flipping through the pages. "Mara be praised! There is a way passed the barrier to the inner sanctum. It involves a recipe for a liquid known as Vaermina's Torpor."

"Is that a potion?" Elain asked, unfamiliar with the name.

Erandur nodded. "Yes. The Torpor grants an ability the priests of Vaermina called The Dreamstride, using dreams to travel distances in the real world."

"That's amazing," Elain answered, not sure she could believe that was possible.

"Quite amazing, yes," Erandur agreed. "Alchemy and the blessings of a Divine distilled down into an ingestible liquid. Sadly, I have yet to see it function in person."

He closed the book and glanced around at all the others. Elain could almost read his thoughts and see him wishing he could rescue them all.

"As a sworn priest of Mara, the elixir won't work for me," the Dunmer informed her. "The Torpor will only work for priests of Vaermina or the uninitiated."

"So you want me to drink this stuff?"

He nodded.

Elain shrugged. She was already in pretty deep. What more was a dream voyage? "What happens?"

"You'll be viewing the memory of another through your own eyes and with your own body," the Dunmer explained. "Those around you will perceive you as normal, and you will find the words you utter may not be your own. Thanks to all of these odd principles, there is quite a lot of debate as to whether this is really a dream or just the machinations of Vaermina."

"And where can we find this Torpor?" Elain wanted to know next.

"There is a laboratory in the east wing," he answered. "If we proceed there, we should be able to locate a sample."

Again, Elain followed the priest through the fort. More Orcs and priests awakened as they went, and they battled them all. On a few occassions, the newly awakened would fight each other, making their passage a bit easier.

"What does this Torpor look like?" Elain asked as they stood within the laboratory which, like the library, was ransacked.

"It will be in a small bottle and look much like a potion, though it will have a bit of a glow to it," he replied, and they split up again to search.

This time, it was Erandur who found what they were looking for.

"So. . . I've taken us this far," he said as he held the bottle out to Elain, "but you need to guide us the rest of the way. Drink."

Elain took the bottle from him and took a deep breath. "Here goes," she muttered, placing the mouth of the bottle to her lips and quickly swallowing the thick liquid. She blacked out.

When Elain came to, the world around her was tinged in a yellowish haze and seemed a bit out of focus. Purple-robed priests, like those she'd seen awaken since being in the temple, ran around her, and she realized this must have been the night the orcs had attacked.

Confirming her thoughts, a voice to her right called out, "The orcs have reached the inner sanctum, Brother Veren."

"We must hold," a Dunmer priest replied. "We can't allow the Skull to fall into their hands."

"But . . . no more than a handful of us remain, brother."

"Then we have no choice," Veren sighed. "The Miasma must be released."

"The Miasma?" the other priest gasped. "But, brother . . ."

"We have no alternative," Veren replied. "It's the will of Vaermina, and what about you, Brother Casimir?" He turned toward Elain, and she realized that must have been the name of the priest whose memories she was living. "Are you prepared to serve the will of Vaermina?"

"I've made my peace. I'm ready," Elain heard herself respond.

"Then it's decided," Veren stated with a definitive nod. "Brother Casimir, you must activate the barrier and release the Miasma. Let nothing stop you. Brother Thorek, we must remain here and guard this Skull - with our lives if necessary."

"Agreed," the other priest, Thorek, replied. "To the death."

"Then let it be done," Veren commanded. "Farewell, my brothers!"

Elain ran through the fighting orcs and priests, watching as the man remembered releasing the barrier and activating the Miasma. The next thing she knew, the world around her became clear again, and she looked up to see Erandur running toward her.

"It worked!" he exclaimed. "Mara be praised! You vanished after drinking the Torpor and materialized on the other side. I have never seen anything quite like it. What happened?"

"I saw through the eyes of a priest what happened on the night the orcs invaded," she answered. "He was tasked with releasing the barrier and the Miasma. I must have pulled the lever here at the same time he remembered pulling it."

"How I envy you," Erandur stated with a sigh. "I can only imagine the excitement of seeing history through the eyes of someone who lived it! Sadly, I am resigned to just reading of its wonders through my research of the Skull."

The two made their way toward the center of the tower where the Skull was located, but their way was blocked by two priests Elain recognized from Brother Casimir's memories.

Erandur immediately stopped with a gasp. "Veren! Thorek! You're alive!"

"No thanks to you, Casimir," Veren replied.

Elain glanced at her companion in surprise. It had been his memories? She had assumed it was the memories of one of the sleeping priests.

"I no longer use that name," Erandur stated proudly. "I am Erandur, priest of Mara."

"You're a traitor," Veren spat. "You left us to die and then ran before the Miasma took you."

Erandur shook his head. "I was scared. I wasn't ready to sleep."

"Enough of your lies!" Veren roared angrily. "I can't allow you to destroy the Skull, Priest of Mara."

"Then you leave me no choice!" Erandur yelled in return.

The two Dunmer immediately began battling with magic. Thorek turned toward Elain, but she was ready for him and had fired of an arrow to his throat, felling him, before he'd even summoned a spell. Erandur and Veren fought for some time, twisting and turning around the altar upon which the Skull sat. Elain attempted to line up a shot to take out the enemy, but Erandur was always in the way.

After some time, she had an opening, and he lay, like his friend, dead by her arrow.

"I knew Veren and Thorek," Erandur stated sadly, looking at their now still bodies. "They were my friends. Is this punishment for my past? Is it Mara's will to torment me so?"

Elain allowed the priest a few moments to grieve and then took a few steps toward the skull. It was actually a staff with a horned skull atop it. Erandur noticed her and pulled himself together.

"It's time," he stated resolutely. "The Skull must be destroyed. If you'll stand back, I'll perform the ritual granted to me by Lady Mara." He raised his hands and stepped up on the dias. "I call upon you, Lady Mara!"

Elain was distracted by a woman's voice seeming to come from nowhere. It echoed in her head.

"He's deceiving you. When the ritual is complete, the Skull will be free, and then Erandur will turn on you."

Vaermina was speaking to her.

"Quickly!" the Daedric Lord hissed. "Kill him now. Kill him and claim the Skull for your own! Vaermina commands you!"

Elain knew about Daedric Lords. They were conniving, and she had no doubt these were the words of a desperate one whose powerful artifact was being destroyed. She didn't believe that Erandur would turn on her. This was a trick.

"No one commands me, bitch," Elain muttered, and the voice in her head was quiet.

As Erandur finished his ritual, the Skull seemed to explode into powder, and he turned and walked back down the steps toward Elain.

"Thank you for your help," he stated with a tired smile. In truth, he looked exhausted. "Forgive me if I don't appear relieved. This temple has taken its toll on me."

"What will you do now?" Elain wondered as they made their way out of the temple and back into the entry hall where his shrine was located.

"I'd constructed this meager shrine with the intention of spending the rest of my years here," he replied, "burying the past and praying for forgiveness. I will remain here, spreading the word of Mara, helping the people of Dawnstar, and atoning for my sins. If you should ever require my help and wish for me to repay my debt to you for your assistance, you can find me here."

Elain nodded and made her way back outside where Meeko came running as soon as he spotted her.

"Hey boy," she said with a smile as she scratched behind his ear.

The sky was still dark, but she could see the hints of the upcoming dawn in the brightening horizon.

"Let's get the hell out of here, yeah?"


	15. The Dark Brotherhood

Chapter Three: The Dark Brotherhood (Tirdas, Seventh of Frostfall; Middas, Eighth of Frostfall; Turdas, Ninth of Frostfall)

Elain had been back in Windhelm for a few days when Mari showed up at her door. She'd been pleased to see her sister and invited her in, introducing her to Calder and then dismissing the man with a suggestion for him to spend the evening at Candlehearth Hall.

"I don't trust him," Mari commented after he'd left, "and obviously you don't either. Aerenwen never felt the need to make Lydia leave the premises in order to discuss anything."

Elain shrugged. "He serves a purpose," she replied simply. "His loyalty is with Stormcloak, not with me. Right now, there is no reason to worry, but I would rather he not know my secrets. He assumes that Nesta is with the Thieves' Guild, but that gives Stormcloak nothing to hold over my head. I'd rather he not know about our history or the fact that Aerenwen is Dragonborn, however."

Mari tilted her head in curiosity. "Why not?"

"Ulfric knows I am not a supporter of the Thalmor, but I don't trust him to not give away my location if it benefited him once he learned of my felony status," she explained, "and I've heard and seen, first hand, of how he uses Nord legends and pride to strengthen his cause. The Dragonborn is one of those things, and having Aerenwen support his cause would, no doubt, bolster it. I don't trust him to not try to force her into doing so, even if it meant using me for leverage."

Mari frowned at the information. "So you don't discuss anything in your housecarl's presence that you don't want to get back to the Jarl," she surmised.

"Correct," Elain replied. "I don't really discuss anything in his presence. He guards my home and my belongings, and I have no doubt that if there were a threat to my welfare while I'm here, he would defend me. It would bring shame to him if his Thane was harmed under his watch. I trust him with those things, but aside from that, we're not friends. I'm probably a mystery to him, but I'm away a lot and as long as he does his job in my absence, I've no reason to bring shame upon him by dismissing him."

Mari nodded her understanding.

After that, the two sisters conversed well into the night, catching up on Mari's departure from Falkreath and her visit in Whiterun. Elain told her about her trip to Solitude and how Nesta had been the last time she'd seen her.

"I'll probably be gone before you rise in the morning," Elain said. "I will be out of town for a few days. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, and I hope you're still here when I return."

"I can probably stay for a week or so," Mari offered. "Where are you going?"

"Here and there," Elain answered cryptically, she wasn't about to tell Mari that she was going to pay the Dark Brotherhood's sanctuary a visit. "I suggest you visit Nurelion at his alchemist shop in the market. I have no doubt you'll find him fascinating. The Gray Quarter, where the Dunmer live, is also worth a visit."

Mari nodded. "Safe travels, sister."

The next morning, Elain woke early and hired a carriage to take her to Falkreath. Once there, she secured a room at the inn. She was recognized as Mari's sister, and several people asked if they had heard from her. Elain claimed she hadn't yet, but that since it had only been just over a week since she'd left, they shouldn't worry. With the war, even if she had sent word of her arrival in the Imperial City, it may take a while to reach any of them.

The following morning she asked a group of hunters she came across if they'd ever encountered a black door in the wilderness. They seemed hesitant and proclaimed the door was haunted, but they pointed her in the right direction, and she finally found it, set into an inset within a rocky outcrop below the main road. A small pond sat near it, and she immediately decided there was something other-worldy about it as it appeared to be black and was unnaturally still.

Elain approached the door which had a sinister-looking skull carved into it. What looked like a bloody handprint was on the skull's forehead, and her instincts told her to place her hand on it. Once she did, an eery whispered echoed around her.

"What is the music of life?"

She answered with the words the assassin had told her and smirked at the sense it now made. "Silence, my brother."

"Welcome home," the voice stated as the door swung open of its own accord.

Elain found herself in a long corridor with stairs carved into the stone leading downward into the cave. Blood red banners hung on the wall at the center of which was a white oval with a black handprint. She knew this was the insignia of the Dark Brotherhood and that the five fingers all signified something, but she couldn't remember what.

At the bottom of the stairs she found herself in a warm, torch-lit room. A table with a map of Skyrim stood in the center, and there appeared to be two other exits. An attractive blond woman leaned casually in one of these doorways and glanced at Elain with a smirk.

"Ah, at last," she stated, pushing herself off the wall to step toward the Altmer. Her voice was familiar. Elain couldn't have forgotten the voice if she'd tried. This was the assassin who had abducted her. She raked her eyes over the blonde Nord's face, taking in the details now that she was without her cowl. She was, indeed, an attractive woman. "I hope you found the place alright."

"I did," Elain replied. "What happens now?"

"Well, what happens now is you start your new life in the Dark Brotherhood," the woman replied. "You're part of the family now. This," she waved her arm around to gesture at the space around them, "is our sanctuary. You won't find a safer place in all of Skyrim, so get comfortable."

She wandered over toward a wardrobe at the far end of the room and returned with a bundle in her arms. "This is your armor," she told Elain as she passed it to her. "I see a lot of potential in you, and I'm working on a special contract for that potential, but for now, I'll have you check in with Nazir. He handles most of our contracts."

Elain nodded. "And who are you?" she asked. "Do I get a name?"

The woman chuckled. "I am Astrid, and I am the leader of this sanctuary - the last remaining active sanctuary in all of Tamriel."

"Tell me about yourself, Astrid," Elain stated, leaning her hip against the table.

Astrid returned to her spot against the wall before answering. "This sanctuary has been my entire life since I was a young woman," she finally replied. "That's when I first discovered my, shall we call it, aptitude, for elimination. I had an uncle, you see. He made certain unwanted advances, so I killed him, and I liked it. Then I killed again, and I liked it even more . . . and so on. I was recruited by the Dark Brotherhood and have been here ever since. I met my husband, Arnbjorn, rose to leadership, and now here we are."

Elain swallowed her disappointment at discovering this attractive woman was married. She may not have many morals, but she didn't hit on married women.

"Come, Elain," Astrid stated, pushing herself off the wall again and starting down another set of stairs located through the archway beside her. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the family."

The next assassin that Elain met was an Argonian man who had been sitting on the stone ground apparently meditating until they approached him. He stood and greeted the newcomer with a reptilian smile.

"Veezara, this is Elain," Astrid introduced. "She's the one I was telling you all about."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elain," the lizard-man stated with a respectful nod. Elain had always liked Argonians. Their interactions were generally so full of respect, and they seemed to have a calm manner about them. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you," Elain replied.

"I have been apart of the Dark Brotherhood from the day I first hatched," Veezara told her. "I am a Shadowscale, you see, born under the sign of the Shadow. The Shadowscales are all but forgotten - an ancient tradition from another time."

"What were the Shadowscales?" Elain asked, never having heard of them before.

"Assassins in service to the king of Black Marsh," he replied. "We were trained by the Dark Brotherhood beginning the day we hatched, but that was a lifetime ago. Today, I am the last of my kind. My order is extinct. Now, I happily serve Astrid and this sanctuary. I am a trained killer, and once again, I have been given a purpose. Life is good. I hope you find success and happiness here as well, Elain."

She thanked him and followed Astrid toward where the familiar sound of a blacksmith's hammer hitting metal could be heard. They approached a Nord with white hair and a beard. He was working in a small area around a forge.

"Arnbjorn!" Astrid called out, garnering his attention over the noise he was making.

So this was the husband. Frankly, Elain couldn't see it. He was old. Yes, still fit like a warrior, but old. Astrid may have been older than she appeared, but she certainly didn't look as advanced in age as her husband. Elain suspected she could have nearly any man she wanted, and it left her curious about this Nord, wondering at his personality.

Arnbjorn stopped his work and turned toward the women. He didn't smile, even when he saw his wife, but he gave Elain an appraising look.

"This is Elain, the one I told you about," Astrid introduced.

He extended his hand, and Elain received it in a shake. If she squeezed it a bit harder than she usually did, it wasn't because she was competing with him or anything. They stood quietly for a moment, sizing each other up, before Arnbjorn spoke.

"Welcome," he stated in a deep voice. "I'm Arnbjorn, and the only things you need to know about me are that I'm a werewolf, I like killing people, I love Astrid, and I hate annoying people."

Elain had to admit she liked his no-nonsense nature.

"Arnbjorn was once a Companion," Astrid told her.

"My sister is a Companion," she stated.

This seemed to interest the otherwise stoic Nord, and it looked like he wanted to hear more.

"She's the newest Harbinger actually," Elain added.

This caused both Arnbjorn and Astrid to widen their eyes.

"The Harbinger of the Companions has an assassin for a sister," he chuckled. "The irony. Your sister and I share a bit in common then. I hope she had better luck than I did. They didn't take kindly to how kindly I took to killing."

Elain smirked slightly and followed Astrid away from the man, passed Veezara, and up a curving path through the rocks to a higher level of the cave.

"Arnbjorn won't like you," the blonde informed her, "but don't take it personally. He doesn't like anyone. More often than not, he doesn't even like me."

"Yet you married him," Elain observed.

"He's a good man, and he has his uses, but we certainly don't have a traditional marriage," Astrid stated. She stopped and allowed her blue eyes to slowly follow the curves of Elain's figure. "Make no mistakes, he is my husband, and I love him, but we have an agreement, and sometimes, there are those of a more . . . feminine nature that fill certain needs I possess."

Elain raised a dark eyebrow and studied the woman who then turned and continued into the next room.

This room was open on one side, overlooking a large area full of frostbite spiders and their nests.

"We harvest their venom to use in poisons," Astrid explained.

A chair sat in a position where it overlooked the spiders, and a little girl sat in it. She turned toward them and smiled before standing and approaching the two women.

"Babette, meet Elain," Astrid introduced.

"I'm so excited to meet you," the little girl, Babette replied. "Astrid hoped you'd come."

"Here I am," Elain responded, still a bit taken off guard by the fact that the Dark Brotherhood had a child amongst them. She then studied the little girl a bit closer, looking passed her brown hair and innocent expression. She realized her eyes had a red line around the color, and her skin seemed unnaturally pale. "You're a vampire," she finally concluded.

Babette grinned. "Don't let my appearance fool you. I'm older than you - a lot older. Getting bitten by a vampire when you're ten will do that to a girl. It's been quite a boon, looking like a child. No one ever suspects a thing. My targets make the mistake of not perceiving me as a threat. Last mistake they ever make."

"Babette is actually our eldest member," Astrid explained, "and she's our resident alchemist. We all know a few recipes for poison, of course, but Babette is a bit of a genius."

"How old are you?" Elain asked curiously. She'd never actually encountered a vampire before, but they had always fascinated her.

"Three hundred years old, give or take a few years," Babette replied with a shrug.

Elain had more questions, but her train of thought was interrupted when they were approached by an elderly Imperial. "Who's this?" he asked tersely.

"This is Elain," Astrid replied.

"Festus Krex," the old man stated, extending his hand. "Before joining the family, I taught at the College of Winterhold. Before that, I was a child prodigy, casting simple spells at a year old, doing complex incantaions by three, and resurrecting corpses at seven."

"Why did you leave the College?" Elain asked.

"I only lasted there two years," he replied. "It was too simple. Too safe. They didn't truly understand the glory of Destruction magic."

"If you hadn't guessed, Festus is the one to go to for any help with assassinations of a magical nature," Astrid explained, leaning into Elain slightly.

"I don't do small talk, and I have no interest in getting to know you," Festus informed her. "Think of me as the cranky old uncle no one talks to."

Elain chuckled and followed Astrid into the next room. This room was sunken down a level with a stairwell at each side. A Redguard man and a Dunmer woman sat at a table. A fire burned on one end with a cooking pot over. Elain assumed this was the kitchen and dining room of the sanctuary.

"Nazir, Gabriella, meet Elain," Astrid announced as they descended the stairs.

The Dunmer stood first and approached their newest member with a slight smile.

"Gabriella is a bit of a traditionalist," Astrid explained. "She's been in the Dark Brotherhood longer than any of us, yet we all know very little about her past. She likes to keep a mysteriousness about her."

Elain smirked at the woman. "Not interested in talking about yourself?"

"Oh, no," Gabriella answered with a smirk of her own. "I enjoy talking about myself very much. Let's see, I enjoy moonlit nights, taking long walks on the beach, knitting, and unicorns. In fact, I once took a seaside stroll on a moonlit night and discovered a unicorn . . . which I proceeded to stab in the throat with a crochet needle. I'm a woman of refined, yet simple, tastes."

Elain's smirk turned into an outright grin at that, immediately deciding she liked this woman, secretive or not.

Nazir approached them next and simply bowed his head at Elain with a friendly smile.

"This one isn't much for talking about himself either," Astrid teased.

"I grew up in Hammerfell," he stated in a very deep voice. "I do not like to discuss my past. Ever since the Dark Brotherhood saved me, I've tried to forget it."

Elain nodded in understanding.

"I'll show you where you'll be laying your head, and then you can come back and chat some with Nazir about any contracts he has available," Astrid said. She took Elain's arm and pulled her up the other set of stairs. There they entered a hallway. There were three rooms located off it. "This is where you will sleep," she said, bringing her into a room with three beds. "Babette and Gabriella have claimed those two beds. That one's yours."

Elain sat the folded armor she had been carrying down on the bed Astrid had indicated and turned back toward Astrid.

"Nazir, Veezara, and Festus are across the hall," the Nord added.

"What's in the room at the end?"

"Empty at the moment," Astrid replied. "It was set apart for a use that is no longer necessary."

Elain tilted her head slightly at the nonanswer but realized that was probably all she was going to get at the time.

Astrid reached behind herself and closed the door, approaching Elain slowly. "Now . . . how about I welcome you home properly?"

Elain did her best to appear calm and unaffected and simply raised a single, dark eyebrow at the other woman.

As Astrid crossed the room, she put an extra sway in her shapely hips and slowly opened her armor from where it attached with small hooks down the front. She stopped in front of Elain and allowed the armor to drop from her shoulders and down her arms, revealing pale, smooth skin, a smattering of freckles across her chest, and perky breasts.

"I told you, Elain," Astrid nearly purred. "Arnbjorn and I have an arrangement. I love him. He's my husband, and I will always choose him first, but we have an open agreement in terms of lovers. We take who we want to bed, sometimes together, and from the moment I was watching you in Solitude, Elain, I have wanted you."

Elain didn't say anything, but she didn't fight it when Astrid took her hands and pulled them up, resting them over her breasts. Elain nearly groaned at the feeling of them in her hands, but she maintained her poker face.

"I know you want me, Elain," Astrid stated confidently. "I could tell the moment you saw me after waking in that cabin, and you couldn't even see me then, really, covered head to toe as I was." She slid her armor fully down, stepping out of it. "Now you can see me. All of me. And at the moment, for right now at least, it's all yours for the taking."

With that, Elain couldn't fight it anymore. She stood and immediately crashed her lips into Astrid's.


	16. The Assassin

Chapter Four: The Assassin (Turdas, Ninth of Frostfall; Fridas, Tenth of Frostfall; Loredas, Eleventh of Frostfall)

Elain hadn't spent the night with Astrid, but they'd rolled around in the furs together for a few hours before going their separate ways. They didn't converse at all. It was clear from the get go that this interaction would be purely physical, and their mouths were too busy doing other things to make conversation. Elain had enjoyed herself immensely. It wasn't as if she saw fireworks or could proclaim Astrid had been the best she'd ever had (that title probably still went to Senna, the priestess of Dibella in Markarth), but she would definitely be up for a repeat if the other woman was interested.

Sleeping with a married woman was new for Elain. Although her affairs had been numerous, she generally avoided people in a committed relationship to someone else. She wasn't desperate enough to allow herself to be the other woman nor did she wish to disrespect the sanctity of marriage. It was one of the few traditions and morals she truly respected. She wasn't sure if she would ever meet someone she would be willing to make that promise to, but she had always admired her parents' relationship and wouldn't purposefully come between a married couple.

If Astrid and Arnbjorn had an open marriage, however, that was different. Elain could only hope the other woman wasn't lying to her about that. She had no desire to make enemies so soon after joining the group.

After Astrid had left, Elain dressed in her new armor which she found to be extremely comfortable. It fit tightly but was flexible and not at all confining, and it barely had any weight to it. Honestly, Elain may have been walking around naked for the way she felt in it, and she knew it would take a little getting used to.

She wandered down to the dining room and fixed herself a plate from some of the meat, fruit, cheese, and bread laid out in a buffet. Nazir was the only other one in the room, and he sat quietly reading and didn't speak to Elain until she had finished eating.

"Are you ready for your first contract?" he asked finally.

She nodded. Honestly, Elain was a bit nervous. No, she had no qualms with killing, and she would be lying if she said that everyone she had killed had completely deserved it, but she didn't make a habit of murdering good people or killing over petty squabbles. In fact, Grelod was probably the first person she had ever killed in cold blood, but the idea of being a paid assassin appealed to Elain on some level, and she was willing to give it a try at least for a little while.

"Your first mark is a woman in Dawnstar," Nazir began. "Beitild left her husband, Leigelf, several months ago. Now the two run competing mining operations. Leigelf was our petitioner, and he wants her out of the picture. Beitild is angry and desperate. A fighter."

After leaving the sanctuary, the following morning, Elain hired a carriage in Falkreath to take her as far as Whiterun. She had no desire to make the entire trip on foot, but she also wished to be able to arrive in Dawnstar undetected.

She was just a short distance north of Whiterun when she came across a broken down carriage in the road. In the back of the carriage was a very large crate, and a short Imperial man dressed as a jester was standing beside it.

He was ranting to himself in a rather shrill voice. "Agh! Bother and befuddle! Stuck here! Stuck here! My mother, my poor mother. Unmoving. At rest but too still."

Elain cleared her throat to gain the man's attention, and he turned to her in surprise. "Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Poor Cicero is stuck, can't you see? I was transporting my dear, sweet mother. Well, not her. Her corpse! She's quite dead," the man replied, and Elain was beginning to wonder if he was a bit unwell in the head. "I'm taking mother to a new home - a new crypt. But agggh! Wagon wheel! Damnedest wagon wheel! It broke! Don't you see?" He gestured toward the bottom of the wagon where one of the wheels was tilted thanks to a broken axel.

"Could I be of some help?" Elain wondered.

"Oh! Oh yes!" the small man answered, clapping his hands and bouncing in place. "Yes, the kindly stranger can certainly help Cicero. Go to the farm - the Loreius Farm - just over there off the road. Talk to Loreius. He has tools! He can help me, but he won't. Convince Loreius to fix my wheel. Do that, and poor Cicero will reward you . . . with coin! Gleamy, shiny coin!"

Elain nodded and made her way up the narrow path across the road which ended at a small farmhouse with a few outbuildings. A man was chopping some wood in the yard, and she approached with what she hoped was a friendly smile.

"Excuse me? Are you Loreius?"

He nodded. "Vantus Loreius. Who's asking?"

"Oh, my name is Elain," she replied. This entire situation was odd. How did she find herself in messes like this? "I'm just passing through, but I was wondering if you could help the stranger on the road whose wagon broke. You seem like a capable man, and I don't have any tools or, frankly, the skill necessary to repair a wheel axel."

Loreius frowned. "That Cicero fellow?" He made a sound that sounded like a combination of a sigh and a growl. "Crazy fool's already asked me about five times. Seems he's not satisfied with my answer. Why can't he just leave us alone?"

Elain tilted her head in curiosity. "Why won't you help him?"

"Have you seen the man?" Loreius asked. "He's completely out of his head. A jester? Here in Skyrim? Ain't been a merryman in these parts for a hundred years, and he's transporting some giant box. Says it's a coffin, and he's going to bury his mother. Mother my eye. He could have anything in there - war contraband, weapons, skooma. Ain't no way I'm getting involved in any of that."

"Look, I understand where you're coming from," Elain stated after a moment. "He's definitely not all there. If you really won't help him, I'll leave you alone, but the fact remains that until someone helps him, he's stuck in the road out in front of your farm. He's clearly not going to leave that box whether it's his dead mother or not. Now would you rather spare a few moments of your time to fix his carriage, allowing him to be on his way? Or have him lingering at the edge of your property for an extended period of time?"

Loreius seemed to think it over for a moment before relenting. "You have a point. Besides, if I turn him away, what kind of man am I? He may be nutters, but he still needs help. Thanks for setting me straight. Tell Cicero I'll be down to fix it soon."

Elain nodded and wandered back down the road to Cicero. "Loreius will be down to fix your wagon soon," she told him.

"Oh stranger!" the jester squealed. "You have made Cicero so happy! So jubilant and ecstatic! But more, even more, my mother thanks you! Here, for your troubles - shiny, clinky gold!" He placed a few coins in Elain's palm. "Farewell, kind stranger. Mother and I will wait right here for Loreius."

Elain gave the jester a slight wave in parting and continued down the road toward Dawnstar.

* * *

The assassin had changed into her Dark Brotherhood armor a few miles from her destination, staying off the road and sticking to the shadows after that. It didn't take her long to find her mark. Beitild was standing outside of the mine she ran, Iron-Breaker Mine.

Elain watched for a short time before notching a poison-tipped arrow in her bow, lining up the shot, and letting it fly.

The arrow struck the miner between the shoulder blades, and she fell into the snow. No one else was around at the moment, so Elain was able to slink away before anyway even noticed the body.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Elain arrived home. She stepped into her kitchen and froze in shock for a moment at the sight before her. Mari was sprawled out on her table - dishes and food scattering the floor as if the surface had been hastily cleaned off - and a head of red hair was buried between her bare thighs.

Mari glanced over at her, and Elain raised her signature eyebrow at the woman. The younger elf smirked and waved her away before slamming her eyes shut and crying out in pleasure.

Elain turned and left the room, shaking her head and chuckling to herself as she climbed the stairs.

The next day, before striking off to the sanctuary once again, Elain reminded her sister that she had her own bedroom in the home.

* * *

This trip to the sanctuary was a brief one. She found Nazir and informed him that Beitild was dead, and with a completely straight face, he answered in a manner that let the elf get a glimpse of the Redguard's dry sense of humor for the first time.

"Of course she is. I hear the mining business is extremely cutthroat, and those hours . . . they're murder."

He'd handed Elain her next contract - a homeless Imperial named Ennodius Papius who camped out along the river near Anga's Mill which she was familiar with because of its proximity to Windhelm. Apparently Ennodius had once worked at the mill, but he'd been fired. Since, he'd lost his mind and grown paranoid.

Rather than stay the night, she planned to hurry back to Windhelm. She'd rented a horse for the journey, still not having found the time to return to Solitude to retrieve hers (she'd contacted Steffen via currier, and he was keeping an eye on it for her), and she knew Mari was leaving in the morning and wished to see her again before she left.

Astrid had approached her in the room with the map - which Elain now knew to be her planning room - on her way out, complimented her on getting the job done well and quickly, and then had her way with her on the table. They only tore the map of Skyrim slightly in the process.


	17. The Night Mother

Chapter Five - The Night Mother (Tirdas, 14th of Frostfall; Tirdas, 21st of Frostfall)

The next couple of weeks passed quickly as Elain seemed to find herself traveling all throughout eastern Skyrim. Along with Ennodius, she had handled two other contracts for Nazir - Deekus, an Argonian thief who was camped out at a shipwreck northeast of Dawnstar, and Ma'randru-jo, a Khajiit mage who traveled with one of the caravans. Elain found them just outside of Whiterun.

Mari had headed north to the College, and though Elain felt badly that she'd missed so much of her visit, she had never really been the type to entertain guests, and her siblings understood that. Besides, Mari hadn't exactly needed entertaining. She'd filled her time exploring the city, researching with the alchemist, and bedding a Dunmer sailor. Elain suspected that even if she'd been at home more, she wouldn't have seen much of her younger sister.

She arrived at the sanctuary once again only to find the entire group gathered in the largest area along with the jester she had encountered on the road and his giant box. The atmosphere was tense.

"But the Night Mother is mother to all!" Cicero exclaimed, his voice a mixture of shock and anger. "It is her voice we follow! Her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely . . . punishment?"

"Keep talking, little man," Arnbjorn growled, "and we'll see who gets punished."

"Oh, be quiet you great, lumbering lapdog," Festus said with a glare in the Nord's direction. "The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil." He turned toward the jester. "Mister Cicero, I, for one, am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition."

"Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are," Cicero gushed. "Sure to earn our Lady's favor."

"You and the Night Mother are, of course, welcome here, Cicero," Astrid stated in her usual calm manner, though Elain was beginning to be able to read the woman after spending time with her on each of her trips to the sanctuary and could tell she was agitated. "You will be afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper. Understood . . . husband?" The way Astrid said the title was strained and devoid of affection. Elain wondered how much Astrid truly did love her spouse.

Arnbjorn let out a frustrated breath before storming off away from the group.

"Oh yes, yes, yes!" Cicero squealed as he clapped his hands. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"But make no mistake," Astrid added, her voice now full of warning, "I am the leader of this sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that point?"

"Oh, yes, mistress," Cicero replied with a sweet smile. "Perfectly! You're the boss."

Elain wondered if she imagined the devious look in his eyes.

* * *

She had received her payment from Nazir who didn't have any open contracts at the time. She wandered toward her quarters and laid down. Cicero hadn't noticed her yet, too caught up in getting his things and his mother moved into the room at the end of the hall. She wondered if he'd recognize her.

Astrid appeared in the doorway. "I was looking for you."

"You found me," Elain replied with a smirk. "What can I do for you?"

"We've got some business to discuss," the other woman explained, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She sat down on the bed beside Elain. "You must go to the city of Markarth and speak with the apothecary's assistant. You'll probably find her in the shop, The Hag's Cure. The girl's been running her mouth. Wants an ex-lover killed. She's apparently performed the Black Sacrament. Her name is Muiri. I need you to talk to her, set up the contract, and carry it out."

"Anything else?"

"Just do whatever the contact wishes," Astrid replied. "Be professional, represent us well, and get the job done. Since it's your first real contract, I'll let you keep whatever Muiri pays. She'll be generous, I'm sure. They always are."

"What do you mean by real contract?" Elain wondered.

"The contracts that Nazir hands out aren't given to us through the Black Sacrament," Astrid explained. "We don't get as many of those any more, so we had to look for other methods of getting marks and earning coin. The deaths of those people aren't always contributed to us because someone paid for an assassin to kill them rather than petitioning the Dark Brotherhood. These ones reflect back on us because word of mouth spreads quickly in reference to the Black Sacrament."

Elain nodded in understanding.

"Now that the business is out of the way . . ." Astrid said with a grin, leaning into Elain and wrapping an arm around her waist.

* * *

"Who is this Cicero fellow?" Elain asked as she and Astrid lay together in her bed afterward.

Something about this time was different. Astrid was usually quick to leave, but this time she was lingering in Elain's arms and had even asked the other woman a few questions about how she was liking being one of them so far.

"A blathering fool from what I can tell," she answered in an annoyed tone, "but he's the Keeper."

"What's that?"

"The Dark Brotherhood serves the Night Mother, bride of Sithis," Astrid replied. "That is supposedly her actual corpse in the coffin Cicero arrived with. It was in Cyrodiil, always has been, but when the Bravil sanctuary was destroyed by the authorities, Cicero managed to escape with the coffin. Now he's here because we're the only operating sanctuary left. Anyway, the position of Keeper, traditionally, was a position of respect. He is responsible for taking care of the Night Mother. Insuring her safety. Doing gods know what to the corpse."

"Why keep a corpse all this time?" Elain wondered. She was fascinated by the macabre, yes, but that was taking things a bit too far even for her.

"It is said that the reason the Black Sacrament used to work was because the Night Mother heard the prayers and then spoke to another respected person within the Brotherhood, the Listener," Astrid answered. "The Listener was the only one who could hear the Night Mother's words and was, therefore, the only one who knew the contracts. He or she would then hand out those contracts based upon location to the leaders of each sanctuary, and then those leaders would hand them out to their various assassins. But there hasn't been a Listener in a very long time. At this point, I don't even know if that is all true or just the stuff of legend."

"Now that Cicero and the Night Mother are here, how are things going to change?" Elain asked. She was getting comfortable. She was getting to know her new 'family' and liked them quite well, and she hated not knowing what to expect.

"Very little. You have my word on that," Astrid replied, tightening her arm around Elain's waist slightly. "The Night Mother represents a chapter in the Dark Brotherhood's history that has long since been closed. Today we live by our own rules. We're the last sanctuary in all of Tamriel, and only by forgoing the old ways have we survived for so long."

"I met Cicero before," Elain confessed. She felt Astrid stiffen and rushed to explain. "His carriage was broken down on the road between Whiterun and Dawnstar. I stopped to help him. I found him odd. I'm not even sure if he'll remember me. It was a very brief encounter."

She felt Astrid nod against her chest. "I'm not sure what he expects to gain by bringing the Night Mother here, but he'll soon learn this is my sanctuary."

"Do you do this often?" Elain asked, deciding a change of subject was necessary.

"What?"

"Take members of your 'family' to bed?"

Astrid chuckled. "Never, actually, aside from Arnbjorn. My responsibility to the survival of the sanctuary and the order comes first. I can't afford to choose favorites."

"Why Arnbjorn?" Elain wondered.

"There was something between us once, years ago," Astrid replied. "He was older, more experienced, took me under his wing when I started here. I'd never met a man who was kind and respectful of women before him. But through the years, our connection has faded. He hates that I'm in charge, and I refuse to put my relationship and loyalty to him over my responsibilities and loyalty to the sanctuary. He hates that as well. I think he thought he would get extra perks for being married to the one in charge. Arnbjorn hates rules. He hates being told what to do. That's why he didn't make it in the Companions."

"Why me?" Elain asked after a few moments.

"I don't know," Astrid replied honestly. "There's something about you. Something here. I know nothing can come of it. I'm a married woman and will be until one of us dies, but I couldn't ignore it completely. I've tried to keep it just physical because I know this," she ran her fingertip across Elain's ribs, "crosses a line. It leads to more, and it's not part of my arrangement with Arnbjorn. I don't want you to be hurt, Elain. I can't put you first. The Sanctuary comes first, then my husband. But I enjoy your company . . . for more than just sex. I'm finding it very hard to stay away."

Elain nodded against the top of Astrid's head and held her a bit tighter. "Don't worry about all that," she whispered. "Just enjoy the moment. Think of me as a friend . . . with added benefits, I suppose. We'll figure out everything else as it comes."


	18. Solitude (Frostfall)

Chapter Six: Solitude (Turdas, 23rd of Frostfall; Fridas, 24th of Frostfall; Loredas, 25th of Frostfall)

Elain had returned home to replenish her traveling supplies and prepare for her trip to Markarth. She intended to hire a carriage to take her to Whiterun the next morning, spend one night in the city, and then hire a carriage to bring her to Solitude. She's spend another night in the capital city before retrieving her horse from the stables and then continuing on to the City of Stone.

It was mid-afternoon, and she was packing in her bedroom when she heard a knock at her door. Knowing Calder was downstairs and would reach it before she did, she leisurely made her way toward the stairs, but she quickened her pace when she realized who had come calling.

She passed her housecarl at the foot of the stairs and heard him muttering to himself.

"How damn many of them are there?"

She glanced toward the door and saw not only her sister but also Aela the Huntress standing within it.

"Aerenwen! Aela!" she exclaimed with a warm smile. "What a surprise! Come in! Can I get you anything to eat?"

"I'm afraid we can't stay, sister," Aerenwen replied after Elain had embraced her in greeting. "Mari asked that we come. We've just left Winterhold and are headed back to Whiterun, but we leave for Solitude in the morning, so we can't dawdle."

Elain nodded but grew concerned. "Is Mari all right?"

"Yes," Aerenwen replied. "She's getting settled in at the college and seems to like it there. We're actually here for me. The dragonborn business has led me to a mission that involved infiltrating the Thalmor embassy to see what they have for information and knowledge about the return of the dragons. I'm invited to a reception there on Saturday night and will be going alone. Mari said you scoped the place out and hoped you may have some helpful information."

Well, that just wouldn't do. There was no way that Elain was going to let one of her sisters face the Thalmor on her own.

"Like hell you're going alone," she stated with a frown.

She hurried to a wardrobe in the corner and pulled out her cloak. Soon she was dressed for the weather and had her bow and a quiver of arrows slung on her back.

"I don't have an invitation for you," Aerenwen replied with a sigh, obviously not pleased that her elder sister had invited herself along.

"Now, sister," Elain smirked, "have I ever needed an invitation to get in anywhere?"

Aerenwen laughed and shook her head, but she smiled and seemed pleased by the turn of events as the three women made their way through the snow squall toward the gate of the city.

* * *

Elain had ridden to Whiterun aboard a carriage with Aerenwen, Aela, Farkas, and his brother, Vilkas. It had been an enjoyable ride as they caught up on all that had transpired since last they'd seen each other, and Elain teased the more serious of the brothers, deciding that it was one of her new goals in life to make the stoic and stuffy Vilkas blush as often as possible.

Farkas had been bound and determined to accompany them on their journey, but with Elain's help, they were able to convince him he was needed more at the Companions' hall.

They'd spent a night at Aerenwen's home, staying up quite late discussing all that Elain had observed at the embassy and developing a lose plan. She had observed the guard rotations and the locations of the two buildings as well as a secret entrance that seemed to lead from somewhere within the embassy to the northern coast not far from a Thalmor-manned fort. She had decided the entrance was within the same building as the prison, which she assumed was the smaller of the two since it was more highly defended, because she never saw prisoners being transported between the two buildings.

They'd arrived in Solitude close to dinner on the second day, and before even entering the city, Elain had checked on Llewy at the stables, pleased to see that she had been well taken care of over the last several weeks.

They found Steffen and Illdi at The Winking Skeever waiting for them, food and drinks already laid out on the small table. Elain greeted them and dug into the food while her sister and Aela were introduced to Illdi.

There seemed to be a silent agreement between the sisters and the Huntress not to discuss the true nature of their visit to Solitude with Steffen. Due to his time in captivity, they all feared telling him where they were headed would worry him unnecessarily and bring up some traumatic memories. Steffen looked so healthy and was doing so well, they didn't want to be the cause of something that set him back.

It was quite late before they parted ways, Steffen apologizing profusely that his new home wasn't ready yet. He'd earned a title and property after performing some services for the Jarl, but the home had apparently been abandoned for some time and needed extensive renovations before being inhabitable again. He promised the next time they were in the city, he'd have a home they could visit, and the sisters smiled as their brother and his friend wandered back toward the college.

The three women then gathered in the large room Aela and Aerenwen would be sharing to review their plan for the next day.

Aerenwen was meeting a contact, the same man who had gotten her the invitation to the party she would be attending, at noon right there at the inn, and he would be sneaking any supplies she needed for her mission into the embassy for her. She was set to meet Delphine, the former Blades agent she was working with, at the stables later that afternoon.

Aerenwen would arrive at the party as an invited guest. When she met Delphine, Aela would make her way toward the northern coast to await them near the hidden entrance, and Elain would wander to the embassy on her own, sticking to the shadows. She planned to attempt to infiltrate the compound by climbing the wall and would then meet her sister within the main building after she, hopefully, had snuck away from the party undetected.

* * *

The Thalmor embassy was situated within the mountains to the west of Solitude. It consisted of two buildings. The entrance to the larger building was exterior to the stone walls surrounding the property which spanned out from the walls of the entrance on both sides. Within the walls sat a second, smaller building.

The walls themselves wouldn't be difficult to climb, the stone portion of them only extending to about eye-level for Elain. Above that was simple rod-iron fencing, but she knew the guards would spot her if she attempted to simply scale it.

Instead, she found a tree whose branches nearly reached the roofline of the first building. Carefully, she climbed and sat, hidden within the evergreen boughs as she waited for her sister to arrive.

Elain watched as Aerenwen climbed out of the carriage, and one of the Thalmor guards inspected her invitation. She was allowed to enter, and Elain slowly made her way closer to the roof, her weight causing the branch she was perched on to dip slightly.

When all of the guards in the courtyard were looking in other directions, she made the small leap onto the roof of the building and slunk through the shadows of the eaves toward a window. She used the end of her bow to break one of the panes, wincing slightly at the sound of the glass shattering, and reached her gloved hand through the shards to unlock the window. After getting it open, she climbed inside and immediately hid in a dark corner in case someone had heard her method of entry. She strung and arrow and aimed it at the only door to the room.

It wasn't long before a Thalmor mage rushed into the room, sparks leaping between the fingers on his risen hand. Elain took him out immediately.

She hid the body and found the stairwell. On the first floor, she found one Thalmor soldier, and he wasn't even patrolling. He was sitting at a bar in a reception room, drinking on the job.

Elain was able to sneak up behind him undetected and slit his throat with her dagger. The soldier groaned and fell from his stool with a thump, despite her trying to lower his corpse down quietly. This alerted a second soldier, patrolling a nearby hallway, that something was amiss, and she had to dodge a few flame spells before finally getting an opportunity to throw her dagger. It spun through the air and hit its mark, lodging in the unprotected area near the soldiers hip between his armor and greaves. This caused him to lose concentration on the flames in his palms, and she was able to fire off an arrow, ending his life.

Elain managed to hide both of the soldiers in a storage room across a short hallway. She divested one of them of his armor. It was a bit bulky at first, but elven armor was enchanted in such a way that after a few moments with it on, it changed its shape slightly in order to fit the specific frame of its wearer.

She then found her way back to the bar where she'd killed the first soldier and wandered behind it. Grinning when she found a bottle of one of her favorite wines from her homeland, she poured herself a glass and leaned against the marble counter to wait for her sister.

"Took you long enough," Elain commented with a smirk as her sister finally entered the room she had been waiting in.

She watched as the auburn-haired Altmer startled and took a few deep breaths.

"You'd think after all these years I would've grown accustomed to you sneaking up on me."

Elain just grinned.

"How'd you get in?" Aerenwen asked.

"A window on the second floor," she replied. "I climbed a tree outside the courtyard and made my way across the roof. There were two guards and a justiciary in here. The justiciary is tucked into a closet upstairs, and the two guards are across the hall in a storage room. I borrowed this armor off one of them."

Aerenwen nodded and disappeared back into the hallway, returning a short time later donning the other set of armor. It look odd to Elain, to see her sister wearing the distinctive elvish armor that had begun to be associated with the Thalmor. Aerenwen had never taken to wearing it, even in their homeland, too afraid she would be mistaken for one of the authoritative group. Instead, she'd always worn a gorgeous set of glass armor that their father had crafted specifically for her - a set of armor that she'd traded for coin as soon as the siblings had arrived in Cyrodiil, although Elain had known that, to her sister, the armor had been priceless. Since arriving on the mainland, she'd gotten used to seeing Aerenwen in hide or leather armor, and, more recently, a set that seemed specific to the Companions, with what appeared to be wolf's fur incorporated into the leather and steal.

The two women made their way outside into the large, walled-in courtyard. There were several guards patrolling, but most didn't even give them a second glance. As they approached the other building, the guard at the door spoke to them.

"You two are new," he commented. "When did you arrive?"

"Just today," Aerenwen replied.

"First time in Skyrim?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Is it always so damn cold?" Elain wondered, faking a shiver. It was cold, yes, in the snow-covered mountain location, but it was still warmer than Windhelm.

The guard nodded. "I'd even take Valenwood over this tundra," he commented. "Head on inside."

They nodded at him and proceeded through the door. Voices carried out from a nearby office, and they quickly deduced it was one of the officials speaking with an informant from Riften. They heard the Blades referenced and something about the Ratway, and it sounded like there was a prisoner downstairs they were torturing for information on a former Blade he knew the location of.

"Do we take them out or sneak by?" Elain whispered, glancing at her sister.

"I vote take them out," Aerenwen decided. "If we're heading where the prisoner is, it sounds like the official in there is going to be making his way in that direction soon enough."

Elain nodded.

They hid around the corner until the Nord informant came out. Aerenwen grabbed him from behind, holding her hand over his mouth to muffle his cries, and quickly snapped his neck. They tucked him into a space beneath the stairs. They had just finished when the Thalmor official stepped out, adorned in the heavy robes they had grown to hate. He nodded at them and made his way down a hallway to the left but never reached his destination as one of Elain's arrows struck him through the base of his skull. They hid him beneath his own desk and rifled through his things, finding nothing of value.

The next room they came to was the office of Elenwen, the Thalmor Ambassador herself. They found a dossiere on Ulfric Stormcloak, which they pocketed for later reading, as well a notice sent out alerting the Thalmor of their own felony status. Elain skimmed it over quickly before tucking it in her pocket.

"Anything we should be concerned about?" Aerenwen asked.

Elain shook her head. "Not yet," she replied. "It was still sealed, so the ambassador hadn't read it yet. It listed our names, but it assumed we would be traveling together. It didn't sound like the know we're here, just that they knew it would be a possibility and that we hadn't been found in the Dominion or Cyrodiil."

"Hopefully they won't see us as important enough to send out another letter," Aerenwen commented.

Elain echoed her statements, and they made their way downstairs.

The dungeon was a large basement room. The sisters took out two guards positioned at the top and bottom of the stairwell without raising any alarm. They could hear voices as they entered the room and found a mage dressed in Thalmor robes torturing a prisoner in an open cell. He barked out questions at the man who seemed barely coherent enough to answer them.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked the sisters with frown. "You're supposed to stay at your post in the stairwell. This area is forbidden."

Elain met the eyes of her older sister who nodded discreetly. Soon, they had the man backed into a corner. Elain had fired off an arrow into each of his palms, preventing him from firing off the flames and sparks he had summoned. He cradled his bleeding hands against his chest and glared at the women.

"What do you know about the dragons?" Aerenwen asked.

Elain was rifling through documents on a nearby desk and pocketing anything that looked to be of importance.

The man refused to speak.

A pounding on the door, which Elain had barred behind them, alerted them to the fact that their ruse may be up.

"We know you're in there!" a man's voice called through the thick wood. "We have your little bartender friend, and you're trapped."

"Well, fuck," Elain muttered, glancing around. She really hoped that secret entrance to the cave on the coast was in this dungeon. "This is cute."

Aerenwen rolled her eyes, causing the other woman to smirk. It was true they'd been in stickier situations than this. Didn't mean Elain was thrilled with this particular turn of events.

She watched as her sister approached the prisoner who looked fearful.

"I don't know anything else, I swear!" he cried out weakly.

"We're not here to hurt you," she replied softly as she knelt before him. "We aren't with the Thalmor, I promise. Do you know if there's a hatch here that the guards have used to transport prisoners?"

The man must have gestured to an area outside his cell because Elain watchd as Aerenwen approached an alcove and kicked the hay on the floor around with her foot, revealing a wooden hatch. She pulled on the handle. It was locked, so she searched the dead official and found several keys on him.

"What's your name?" Aerenwen asked as she knelt before the haggard man again.

Elain's attention was drawn by the pounding on the door at the top of the stairs.

"Etienne," she heard the prisoner reply. "Etienne Rarnis."

"We're going to get you out of here, Etienne."

Elain sighed to herself. Of course her sister was going to play hero. It would be easier to just get the hell out of there without worrying about the weakened man. She listened as Aerenwen introduced them to the prisoner and questioned him as to why the Thalmor held him. There was something about an old man hiding out in the Ratway in Riften.

Elain shuffled her feet nervously as Aerenwen went to work opening the hatch. Elain heard the creaking of hinges and glanced over as her sister whistled into the hole. She watched as she helped the prisoner climb down into it. Aela must have been down there.

Elain watched, her eyes locked to the door at the top of the stairs, as flames began to appear through the wood that was know glowing red-hot with the heat of the Destruction spells most likely aimed at it.

She heard Aela's voice rise out of the hole in the floor but couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"I can't yet," Aerenwen replied. The Huntress must have told her to climb down. "They have Malborn."

Elain glanced over and saw a familiar red head poke through the hole before nervously looking back toward the door.

"Show yourselves or the Bosmer dies!" a voice called out.

"Leave me!" Malborn's voice shouted, followed by an exclamation of pain after he had no doubt been struck.

"So what's the plan?" Aela asked as she climbed the rest of the way out of the hatch. "We wait here for the dozens of Thalmar on the other side of the door to come barging through?"

Aerenwen sighed, and Elain quickly thought over their options. It was clear her sister wasn't leaving without the Bosmer.

"They're over confident," she finally replied. "They always are. I doubt the ambassador has done anything to break up her party. She wouldn't want her guests to suspect there was a chance she didn't have everything under control. My guess, there's maybe a half dozen guards on the other side of that door, thinking there's just one of you, and that's all they need."

Aerenwen nodded her agreement before closing the hatch and covering it with hay again, making it appear they hadn't found it. She then motioned toward a ladder leading into a storage loft above it.

Soon, the three women were gathered there, hiding behind various crates. Aela and Elain had their bows at the ready, and Aerenwen crouched beside the ladder to take out any guards who may get passed their range and attempt to climb up.

The door broke and two guards emerged at the bottom of the stairs, immediately falling as Aela and Elain hit their marks. Two more guards, in their haste to get down the stairs, failed to learn from their comrades' mistakes and met the same fate. The final two were a bit smarter, emerging with the wood elf in front of them like a human shield, but they underestimated the skills of the archers and were soon shot as well, though the wounds they suffered weren't immediately fatal, although the one wounded in the side of his neck would, no doubt, bleed out fairly quickly.

The women waited a moment, and when they were secure in the fact that no others were coming, they climbed the ladder. Aerenwen approached one of the guards who was attempting to get up, despite the arrow lodged deep in the opening between his greaves and boots, no doubt right in his knee. She pointed her sword at his neck, the tip piercing slightly and causing blood to trickle out.

"Traitor," he spat. "You are a blight on our race."

"You don't know me," Aerenwen replied with a single eyebrow raised. "I owe no allegiance to the Thalmor and their despicable ways, therefore, I am no traitor. Though if being a traitor means living an honorable life rather than blindly following evil leadership, I'll bare that title proudly."

He glared at Aerenwen.

"Did we get everything we needed?" she asked over her shoulder though her eyes never left the guard. Malborn had fled and was hiding behind Aela near the hatch, and Elain stood nearby, watching her sister.

"Yes," she replied.

"Very well," Aerenwen answered, and she quickly slit the man's throat. She did the same to the other dying man. Elain knew it wasn't done to end their suffering. Her sister was usually merciful, but even to the honorable Companion, the Thalmor did not deserve mercy. They were killed in order to prevent the risk of them still being alive when reinforcements arrived. If they were dead, they couldn't relate the account of what had happened.

"Quickly," Aela stated, opening the hatch again.

She climbed down first, followed by Malborn and Elain. Aerenwen was the last out. She closed the hatch and placed the padlock from the other side on it, insuring they would not be followed.

The cave was dark, but Aerenwen held a torch, and Elain summoned a guiding light in her palm. Etienne leaned on Aerenwen, and soon they found themselves outside in the starlit night, a beach and the sea stretched out before them.

"Thank you," Malborn stated, still obviously shaken up. "When they realized you were gone from the party, they immediately made the connection that it had to have been me that helped you. Most would have just left me behind."

Aerenwen placed a hand on his shoulder. "We don't leave friends behind," she replied with a soft smile. "I've had to leave someone behind with the Thalmor before, and I swore I would never do so again."

Elain fought tears, blinking the moisture away from her golden eyes. Although she had been annoyed that her sister was willing to risk their safety for the Breton prisoner and the Bosmer, she understood her reasons.

"Where will you go now?" Aerenwen asked.

"Windhelm," he replied. "I'll be safe there while I wait for my fiancee," he explained. "She was a server here, but the Thalmor have no knowledge of our relationship, so she should be safe. She's been instructed to leave and travel to Windhelm as a rendezvous point if things ever went south. From there, I suppose, we'll travel to Morrowind."

"I have a home in Windhelm," Elain offered. "You're welcome to travel with me, though I'll be stopping in Whiterun briefly and have some other business to attend to."

"Thanks," Malborn replied, "but it's probably best we split up. They'll be looking for us."

Elain nodded, understanding.

"And you?" Aerenwen asked Etienne.

"I suppose I'll head back to Riften," he replied. "Though I'm not sure how far I'll get in this state."

"I can help with that." She used a healing spell to take care of his superficial injuries and handed over three vials of a healing potion. "When you get there, seek out my sister Nesta," she told him. "She's with the Guild, and she'll help you if she knows I sent you."

He nodded and expressed his gratitude. Soon, the two men had disappeared into the trees, and Aela retrieved their horses which she'd hidden nearby. Elain climbed up behind her sister, and they rode off into the night.

"There's something different about you," she commented after a time, quiet enough that Aela, who rode a few paces behind them, wouldn't hear. She'd noticed it on the journey from Windhelm to Whiterun, but this was the first time they'd had any semblance of privacy, so she hadn't brought it up.

"Oh?" Aerenwen asked in a far-too innocent tone. Elain felt her body stiffen.

"Mm-hmm," she replied, just as innocently. "And did you realize, like Aela and Farkas, you have a ring of silver around the color in your eyes now?"

Aerenwen didn't reply, but Elain watched as she nodded her head.

Elain knew about Daedric Lords. She'd never worshipped any of them or pledged herself to one of them, though now she supposed, with her membership in the Dark Brotherhood, she was technically pledged to Sithis. She'd never even encountered one until Sanguine and, to her knowledge, had never met a vampire or werewolf before being introduced to Babette and the Companions. She hadn't suspected anything at first, but the more she observed Aela and the other Circle members, the more she suspected, and now, with the changes she had observed in her sister, she knew she was right. Aerenwen, as well as Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas, was a werewolf. She'd pledged her soul to Hircine, and she wondered if it was something all the Companions had to do, given that Arnbjorn was a former Companion and also a werewolf.

"Did it happen under duress?" Elain asked.

Aerenwen sighed and shook her head.

That made Elain feel better. She would never judge anyone for pledging themselves to a Daedric Lord or becoming one of their creatures, just so long as it was what they wanted.

"Good," she replied, and she left it at that.

The older Altmer sighed in relief.

 **Author's Note: That is the end of this installment of Elain's story. We'll touch base with Glenys next. I'll hopefully have her story edited this week and begin posting it next weekend.**


	19. Pinewatch

Part IV: Sun's Dusk

 **Author's Note: Previously in Elain's story, with the help of Stormcloak survivors of Helgen, she found her way to Windhelm where she solved a string of murders, earning herself a title and home in the process. She encounters her siblings, as she travels Skyrim, exploring and helping them, and when she aids a young boy, finds herself unexpectedly recruited into the Dark Brotherhood.**

Chapter One: Pinewatch (Loredas/Sundas, First/Second of Sun's Dusk)

Elain's contract for the Dark Brotherhood had been delayed due to helping Aerenwen infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy, but she didn't feel badly about it. Her intent had been to return to Windhelm briefly before striking off for Markarth, but it was while she was at home that Aerenwen and Aela had arrived. She hadn't thought twice about insisting upon accompanying them, and while she was certain her superiors in the Brotherhood would not be pleased that over a week had passed since the assignment had been given, and she'd yet to even visit the client, she really didn't care. The Brotherhood may have been family to the other members who didn't have their own, but she did, and her sisters and their safety would always come first.

Besides, they wouldn't be complaining when she completed this contract and completed it well.

Elain had gone home to Windhelm, only briefly, after returning from Solitude. She checked in to make sure that the Bosmer who had helped Aerenwen had made it there safely (he had) and retrieved a few items from her home. She also wanted to make certain her housecarl was well aware that she was still alive and that it was still her house.

She decided to bring Meeko with her when she returned to Whiterun. She felt badly because the dog had been alone at the house with a surly housecarl quite often as of late and also figured he would be of help if the Thalmor came calling. She trusted that dog more than she trusted most people. As it turned out, she was glad she had brought him. Hamish adored the dog, who took to the boy's pet fox, Kit, like long lost brothers, and when they weren't at home, Meeko wasn't far from the boy's side. Aerenwen made certain that Elain was aware that Meeko would always be welcome there whether she was at home or not and to feel free to leave him in their care if she was to be away from home and couldn't bring him along.

The month of Sun's Dusk came and with it came shorter days and cooler weather. The leaves were falling from the trees in the city, and there was the scent of winter in the air. Elain had been at Aerenwen's for a week, making sure the Thalmor didn't come looking for her sister and listening to the other woman's frustration as her associate couldn't make a decision as to whether or not they should see if this man in the Ratway was really who the Thalmor thought he was.

After remaining there for almost a week, Elain decided she was strike off for Markarth to visit the petitioner of the contract and find out just who it was she wanted killed. Elain was just falling asleep in Hamish's bed, the boy tucked into a bed roll on the floor with the fox and the dog curled against him, when she heard a knock on the door downstairs.

She immediately got out of bed and grabbed her bow and arrows. Meeko and Kit both lifted there heads, but she motioned with them to stay with the boy and stepped outside the room, closing the door behind her. She met Aela and Aerenwen on the landing, and they waited to hear who was at the door Lydia was currently answering.

"May I help you?" they heard Lydia say, her voice drifting up through the floorboards.

"Yes, I'm sorry to call so late," a familiar voice replied, "but I'm looking for Aerenwen."

The three women at the top of the stairs immediately exchanged grins before rushing down the stairs, weapons forgotten.

"Nesta!" Aerenwen exclaimed, pulling their sister into a hug.

The younger elf chuckled, and Lydia, who was clearly surprised at her Thane rushing into the embrace, recovered quickly to shut and bolt the door behind them.

"Lydia, this is my sister, Nesta," Aerenwen introduced. "Nesta, my housecarl, Lydia."

The housecarl gave a slight nod in greeting before retiring to her bedroom to give the women some privacy.

"What are you doing here?" Aerenwen asked as Nesta greeted Aela and Elain with their own hugs. Elain was absolutely thrilled to have her two favorite sisters in the same place for the first time since they'd arrived in Skyrim. It wasn't that she loved the other three any less, but it was no secret that her bond had always been closer with Aerenwen and Nesta than the others. They'd been inseparable as youths and often had adventured together back in their homeland.

"I need your help," the blonde Altmer sister replied. "Yours will be an added bonus, though I hadn't expected to see you here," she added toward Elain with a wink. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Elain chuckled. "This Dragonborn business has our dear sister getting a little too close to the Thalmor for my comfort," she answered as she sat down in one of the chairs near the door, kicking her feet up to rest on the tabletop.

Nesta turned toward Aerenwen with wide eyes, obviously looking for an explanation.

"I have a colleague who is helping me look into the purpose behind the dragons' return," she explained. "She's a former Blades agent in hiding from the Thalmor. We wished to know if they knew anything more than we did about the dragons, so Elain and I infiltrated their embassy outside Solitude last week."

"Did you find anything?" Nesta asked. She plopped down in one of the seats beside the fire and dropped her bow and quiver onto the floor beside her.

"Not much," Aerenwen answered. "There's possibly another former Blade hiding in the Ratway. A man named Esbern?"

Nesta tilted her head in thought for a moment. "I've heard tell of some old man whose got himself holed up in one of the rooms there. He never comes out, and he pays people to bring him food and drink from the tavern. Could be him."

Aerenwen nodded. It sounded promising. "Elain is here in case the Thalmor show up looking for me," she explained further. "Delphine lacked the foresight to use a fake name when she added me to the guest list."

"We were discovered," Elain added. "We got out, obviously, and were able to take a few of those Thalmor assholes out in the process, but they know Ren's name. With her title and standing as the Dragonborn, it won't be hard for them to find her if they look."

Nesta nodded with a frown. "Do they know about us?"

Aerenwen shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I found a letter to the ambassador with the details of our story and descriptions of us," Elain explained, "but it was still sealed, and I took it. Hopefully, they won't see us as worthy of sending another letter."

Again, Nesta nodded. "I'll help you guys find the old man in the Ratway, see if he's this Esbern you're looking for," she said, "but first, I need your help."

"What's going on?" Aerenwen asked. She sat in the chair beside Nesta, and Aela joined Elain at the small table in the corner.

"Well, you all know the Guild is taking back our reputation in Skyrim one city at a time," Nesta explained. "I finished my business in Windhelm, and Markarth was next on the list. I've spent the last month staying with Glenys and performing jobs with some colleagues. It went well, and we drew the attention of a silver smith there who could gain us quite a lot of influence and would be a fence for us in the city. Completing the job he gave me would conclude my business there.

"He had some specialty silver mold shipped up from the Imperial City, but the shipment was intercepted by some bandits outside Falkreath," she continued. "The job he gave me was to steal it back, so I've been in Falkreath trying to determine what group of bandits were responsible for the theft. That hold is a mess," she added with a shake of her head.

"Anyway, in my search, a man approached me." She glanced at Aela. "Your father."

The Huntress' eyes widened, and she inched forward on her seat a bit. This intrigued Elain. Though she would admit she still had a lot to learn about her sister's lover, she would have thought she'd have heard mention of a father if he lived as close as Falkreath.

"Some time ago, a group of bandits broke into his home," Nesta told them. "Apparently there's some old ruin near it, mostly underground. The entrance is no longer accessible from the surface, but they were able to gain entry into it by knocking a hole in his basement wall. They've made their camp there and come and go from his house under the threat of death if he tells anyone about it. He approached me after realizing I was your sister and could be trusted. I'm pretty sure they're the bandits I'm looking for, and I figured you'd want to know that your father is in trouble."

Aela nodded and exchanged a meaningful glance with Aerenwen.

"Where's his house?" Elain asked.

"Just outside Falkreath," Nesta replied. "The locals call it Pinewatch."

Aerenwen stood. "Let's try to get some rest," she stated. "We head out for Pinewatch at first light."

* * *

The group of women rode passed Pinewatch and left their horses in Falkreath. Leaving them outside the cabin was too much of a risk, and they could approach more stealthily on foot. They shared a late breakfast at the inn where they garnered a lot of attention, both because two of them were Companions and because it was well known now that they were Mari's sisters. Her friends had questions, and knowing she'd reached her destination safely, they simply replied that she had just sent word that she'd reached the Imperial City safely in order to set their minds at ease.

They approached Pinewatch cautiously, and Nesta took care of a bandit who stood guard outside of the cabin with an arrow before he even realized they were there. They entered the house with weapons drawn, startling Niall who sat at a table in the main room of the cabin. He relaxed when he realized who it was, and his eyes widened when he recognized his daughter among them.

"Are you well?" Aela asked, studying the man.

Niall simply nodded and held his finger to his lips. "One of them, Rhorlak, is asleep in the bed downstairs," he explained in a whisper.

They nodded, and Elain took a few silent steps down the wooden stairwell, aiming an arrow at the sleeping bandit who would never again wake up.

Once he had been taken care of, the group entered the basement where Niall showed them the entrance to the ruins. It was hidden behind a mechanized bookshelf which swung open after pressing a button located nearby.

"Go to the inn in Falkreath," Aela ordered her father. "You shouldn't be here while this is happening."

Niall simply nodded and cast his daughter a small smile. He then glanced at Nesta. "Thank you," he said quietly. "When I asked for you help, I didn't expect to see my daughter again."

"No matter what happened between you, you're her father," Nesta replied with a shrug. "I knew she would want to help if your safety was on the line, and I can't take on a whole underground den of bandits on my own."

Niall sent thankful smiles to each of the women, and when his eyes were on his daughter again, he whispered, "Be safe."

Aela simply nodded.

Niall disappeared up the stairs, and Elain pressed the button, the four women standing back as they watched the bookshelf swing outward, revealing a rough hole in the wall and a tunnel extending beyond it.

"You alright?" Aerenwen asked, and Elain stepped forward into the tunnel with Nesta so that their sister and her lover could have a semblance of privacy.

"Let's go," Aela stated after a moment. "I want these bastards out of my childhood home."

The Altmer sisters all nodded and followed their Nord companion through the tunnel.

* * *

Their travel through the underground ruins was easy at first. It wasn't well lit, and with their combined experience with stealth along with Aela, Nesta, and Elain's skill with archery, they were able to remain undetected, simply taking the bandits they encountered out from the shadows.

It wasn't until they had reached a living area within the ruin that they actually had to engage in any fighting. An area with several beds led into an area set up as a dining hall of sorts with several tables and a long bar. Several bandits were located there, and Aela and Aerenwen clashed swords with them. When they had all fallen, and the women were trying to figure out where to go next, a female emerged from behind a wooden partition. She looked confused and still half asleep, but when she took in the dead bandits and the group of strangers in the room, she let out a battle cry and dove at the nearest intruder who happened to be Aerenwen.

Despite the fact that this bandit put up with a good fight and possessed an enchanted sword, with four against one, she didn't last long. The sisters split up to search the dead, and Aerenwen found a key and a journal on the last bandit.

"This was their leader," she explained to the others. "Rigel Strong-Arm."

"Niall said she was a he," Nesta commented, looking over her shoulder at the dead woman. "I can see why he was confused," she added with a cringe. "She's an ugly one."

Elain nodded her agreement, and the group continued through a narrow tunnel leading off the room. They avoided a few traps and encountered one last bandit standing guard beside Rigel's treasure room. Inside was an enormous amount of loot, including the silver mold they were looking for.

Aerenwen must have thought Elain and Nesta were looking a bit too eagerly at all the treasure because she questioned them. "You realize this all belongs to someone, right?"

"Finder's keepers?" Nesta offered with a grin.

Aerenwen scoffed. Elain smirked, and Aela just chuckled.

After retrieving the silver mold, the group found a second entrance to the room - a barred door that led them to the first underground chamber they had encountered after leaving Niall's basement.

"I know you two pocketed some of that for yourselves," Aerenwen commented to her sisters after they had made their way back into Pinewatch. She was glaring at them, but there was no malice behind it - more the disapproving look of a mother who was trying not to be amused by her child's actions, "but I'll be telling the Jarl about this place, so they can retrieve the stolen goods and return them to their rightful owners."

Elain simply smirked at her sister. She'd already pocketed a few things and would have no reason to return.

* * *

The group found Niall back at the inn, and though he tried to speak with Aela, she had simply shook her head.

"I'm glad you're safe, and I'll do everything I can to ensure that," she stated, "but I'm not ready to forgive and forget quite yet."

Niall nodded sadly.

The sisters and Aela shared a dinner and made their plans for their next steps.

"I need to return this to Markarth," Nesta informed them. "I can be back in Whiterun in a few days, and, if you're willing, you can accompany me back to Riften, and we'll see if this fellow in the Ratway is the one you and the Thalmor are looking for."

Aerenwen nodded. "It's obvious that Delphine isn't about to make up her mind anytime soon, so I'm up for that. We may as well look into any leads we get."

"I'll go with," Elain offered. "I have a bit of business to attend to myself while I'm in this area," her sisters looked curiously at her, but she offered no explanation, "but then I'll meet you all back in Whiterun. Three days?"

Aerenwen and Nesta both nodded in agreement to the time frame.

 **Author's Note: This is the first chapter to the fourth part of Elain's story. Like this chapter, there will be a few instances of crossovers as Elain helps her sisters, but we'll also see what's going on with the Dark Brotherhood since Cicero's arrival.**


	20. Fellglow Keep

Chapter Two: Fellglow Keep (Tirdas, Fourth of Sun's Dusk)

Elain had decided to pay a visit to the sanctuary while she was in the area to see how things were going with the arrival of the Keeper and the Night Mother. Astrid had clearly been stressed when she'd last seen her, so even though she hadn't completed her contract, she didn't feel right being in the area and not swinging by.

She found the leader leaning over the table in the first room, looking through some old books.

"Did you complete that contract?" Astrid asked when she spotted Elain leaning against the doorway.

The Altmer shook her head. "I've been delayed slightly due to some unforeseen circumstances but am headed in that direction now," she lied. "I didn't feel right passing through Falkreath without checking in."

The blonde smiled slightly at that. "Is everything all right?" she asked, referencing the unforeseen circumstances Elain had referred to.

She simply nodded but didn't offer any further explanation. Her business was her own, and while she may have been developing feelings for this woman, she knew they couldn't go anywhere. Astrid had been clear that she had no intention of leaving her husband, so Elain saw it necessary to maintain some walls around her personal affairs where she was concerned.

"Very well," Astrid replied. "Arnbjorn is away on a contract, so my bed will be empty tonight." She advanced upon Elain with a sly smirk. "Are you interested in occupying that space?"

Elain returned her smirk and allowed the other woman to wrap her arms around her waist. "I suppose it won't hurt for my trip to be delayed a bit longer."

* * *

Elain had returned to Whiterun in the wee hours of the morning. She'd left Astrid's bed while the other woman was asleep and spent the next day exploring the area. She wasn't terribly familiar with Falkreath, and if she was to be spending time there because of the sanctuary's location, she wished to know the area she was in. When she'd finally returned to her sister's house, she had discovered that Mari had arrived seeking help.

Their younger sister was on some College business to retrieve some important books that had been stolen by a group of Necromancer's camped out nearby, and Aerenwen had agreed to aid her in the task. Elain, of course, insisted on joining them. Not only would she not allow her sisters to travel into unknown danger alone when she was willing and able to help, but she was also the most familiar with the Necromantic arts of anyone in the family.

The trio left Whiterun after breakfast, leaving Hamish and the pets in the capable care of Lydia who had returned from her night off while they were eating.

Fellglow Keep was mostly in ruin, several toppled towers littering the hillside. It wasn't long after their arrival that their presence had been detected by a flame atronach who immediately attacked, along with two mages who stood guard outside.

Mari was able to defeat the atronach while Elain took care of one of the mages with a long-distance arrow, and Aerenwen dodged fire spells from the other before finally landing her sword in his gut.

After some searching, the three sisters found the entrance to the dungeons of the keep down a set of stairs burrowed into the ground. The dungeons themselves were slightly flooded with rancid-smelling water. After navigating the subterranean tunnels, they entered a room where a mage stood amongst a group of smaller-sized frostbite spiders.

"Ah! Test subjects!" the mage exclaimed gleefully. "Attack, my pets!"

It took some time, and a few close calls, but the sisters were successful in defeating the spiders and the mage. They navigated the tunnels deeper into the structure until they found themselves in a room containing cells that housed emaciated vampires with two mages patrolling.

"You two handle the mages," Elain stated in a whisper. "I'll deal with the vampires."

The other two nodded and made quick work of the two novice mages. Elain then approached the locked cells, gaining the attention of the hungry vampires. She knew they would attack the first blood-filled being they encountered in their starvation, and she didn't want her sisters or her to be on the menu nor did she have any desire to kill the wretched creatures. They'd been through enough already, and in her opinion, being a vampire wasn't reason enough in itself to kill someone. She didn't know who they were outside of these cages.

"You're hungry," Elain stated, gazing at them through the bars. "You've been held here against your will. We are not with them. We will let you free if you promise to sate your hunger on those who have imprisoned you and spare the three of us."

The vampires exchanged glances between them before nodding at her, so she pulled four levers located in the center of the room. The cell doors opened, and the four vampires rushed into the adjoining area. Screams and the sounds of fighting ensued, and by the time the sisters had entered the next space, three mages lay dead amongst tables and torture equipment containing the corpses of vampires. Those they had freed continued deeper into the dungeons.

"They were experimenting on them," Aerenwen stated with a shudder, and Elain nodded in agreement.

As they followed the next tunnel, finding two more mages laid waste by the vampires they had freed, the sound of howling could be heard.

The next test subjects were wolves, and Elain noticed Aerenwen's relief at that discovery. After finding the vampires previously, she had no doubt feared werewolves would be the next victims. She released the three beasts, and they seemed to realize that the sisters were not the enemy and ignored them in favor of taking off in the direction the vampires had assumedly gone, deeper into the keep.

A fourth prison cell housed a mage, a fellow Altmer, and he knelt down as he clutched the bars on the door. "Please! Please release me!" he cried out. "Help me! They're going to do something awful to me!"

"Who are you?" Mari asked, approaching his cell.

"I am Orthorn," he replied. "There's a lever there," he pointed toward the edge of his cell. "Please let me out before they come back!"

"You're Orthorn?" Mari asking, seemingly recognizing the name.

"Yes! Yes, did Arch-Mage Aren send you?" the imprisoned mage asked.

"He sent me, but not for you," Mari replied. "I'm here for the books you stole."

Orthorn's eyes widened. "Oh . . . oh, I see," he said, sounding completely defeated. "I shouldn't have taken them, I know. It was stupid. I was stupid, and it won't happen again. Let me out of here, and I'll help you find them."

Mari glanced at Aerenwen who shrugged. "This is your mission," she told her sister. "I'm just your sword."

Mari smirked and shook her head but apparently decided to let Orthorn out as the others watched her pull the level. The mage rushed out and caught Mari off-guard with a grateful hug.

"Where are the books?" Mari asked as she shrugged the relieved mage off her.

"I don't have them anymore," Orthorn replied sheepishly. "She took them . . . The Caller. She's the one who put me in this cell. I promise I will help you get them back, and then I will go back to the College and beg them to take me back. I'll make amends."

Mari rolled her eyes. "That's between you and the Arch-Mage," she replied. "I'm just here for the books."

Orthorn nodded. "I'll help you get them," he stated again. "The Caller will have them. She was most interested in one of the novels, though not interested enough to keep me from being locked up."

"Fine," Mari stated, narrowing her eyes at the mage. "You can show us where they are. Just don't get in the way."

Orthorn nodded eagerly. "I shall do my best. I owe the College for my transgressions."

The group of now four Altmer made their way deeper into the structure. Most of the mages they encountered had already been dealt with by the vampires and wolves, but a few had managed to evade them. Aerenwen and Elain were quick to dispatch of them, and Mari even took a few out with her flame spells.

Eventually, they came to a door atop a spiraling set of stone steps.

"This is the Ritual Chamber," Orthorn whispered. "The Caller will be in there."

"Who is this Caller?" Aerenwen asked.

"Their leader," Orthorn answered.

They entered the room on alert, and a robed Altmer mage stood the center amongst several lit candles.

"So you're the ones who barged into my home and laid waste to my projects," the woman stated when they stood before her. "How nice to meet you."

"Who are you?" Mari asked.

"Names no longer matter," the woman replied. "You may refer to me as The Caller. Now, do you have a reason for making such a mess?"

"I was sent by the College to retrieve the stolen books you have in your possession," Mari answered.

"So you're just one of Aren's lackeys?" The Caller asked with disgust. "How disappointing. You show real promise. You come here, kill my assistants, disrupt my work . . . You've annoyed me. I don't think I'll be giving you anything."

"Let me leave with the books, and there won't be anymore trouble," Mari offered.

The Caller sighed and studied the three women a moment. "Fine. Take them and be gone. I have little use for them anymore anyway," she gestured toward several pedestals around the room housing books. "Never return here or else you'll face my full wrath."

Mari nodded and slowly made her way around the room, retrieving the books. While The Caller's attention was drawn by Mari's movement around the room, Elain quietly strung an arrow and then fired it, catching the mage in the throat. She fell in the center of the room in a pool of blood, and her sisters glanced at her in surprise.

"Oh please," she muttered with an eye roll. "It's fine and well that you were able to get your books, but were we really going to leave her alive? I don't know what in Aedra's name she's up to, but it isn't good, that much is clear."

Aerenwen chuckled and shook her head, and Mari nodded her agreement. Orthorn seemed shocked and continuously glanced at Elain out of fear as they made their way back above ground. She was fine with that. This man meant nothing to her, and she was more than comfortable with people she didn't care about having a healthy dose of fear in regards to her.

Back in the fresh air, Orthorn bid his saviors goodbye. "Well, everything worked out nicely, didn't it?" At Mari's look of hesitant agreement, he continued. "You'll be going back to the College then?" She nodded. "I, uhh . . . I think, perhaps, I'll wait a bit before venturing there myself. Let this whole thing blow over, you know. Give certain parties a chance to forget what I may have done. Still, you've gotten me out of that cage, and I won't forget it. Thank you again and good luck to you." With that, the Altmer man took off running down the hillside.

"Will the College let him back in?" Aerenwen asked.

"It's doubtful," Mari replied with a shrug.

"So what are these books we risked our lives for?" Elain wanted to know.

Mari pulled each of the books out of her satchel and read their titles as she did so. " _Night of Tears_ , _The Last King of the Ayleids_ , and _Fragment: On Artaeum_."

" _Night of Tears_ sounds promising, considering what you're dealing with and the history of Saarthal," Aerenwen commented as they made their way down the hillside in the direction of Whiterun.

"I can only hope," Mari replied. "I have a very bad feeling about all this."


	21. The Ratway

Chapter Three: The Ratway (Fridas/Loredas; Seventh/Eighth of Sun's Dusk)

They had returned to Whiterun and bid Mari farewell only to have Nesta return from her business in Markarth the following day. After a brief stop in Riverwood to meet with Aerenwen's contact, they headed toward Riften.

It was just a few hours before dawn when the three sisters and Aela arrived in Riften. It wasn't Elain's first time in the city. After all, she'd traveled there and stayed at the inn when she'd killed Grelod, but her sisters didn't know that, and it was nice to see Nesta's home through her eyes. She followed Aerenwen's curious gaze as they traversed the dimly lit streets and listened attentively as Nesta pointed out various landmarks and buildings

Through a gate and a wooden door and down a torch-lit hallway, they followed Nesta through sewers and across a bridge until they reached a second wooden door. A sign above the door read 'The Ragged Flagon'.

"This is an underground tavern," Nesta explained. "It's open to the public, but it attracts unsavory types, aside from the Guild, of course," she added with a wink.

They followed her inside. The tavern seemed to be located on the opposite side of a large well and was reached by a wooden ramp crossing the water. A stone walkway surrounded the well and two merchants, a blacksmith and an alchemist, were set up in small caverns along it.

"They weren't here when I first arrived," Nesta explained as they walked toward the bar. "Once upon a time, this place was a city beneath a city, or so I'm told. Then our bad luck led to most of the merchants leaving. It's only been with my success in Windhelm that the blacksmith set up shop here. The alchemist must be a result from my business in Markarth."

They climbed the ramp and Nesta nodded at the rough-looking Nord who stood guard. He appraised the others accompanying Nesta with narrowed eyes but smirked at her in greeting.

"Well, well, well, would you look at what the skeever dragged in," a middle-aged Breton commented as the group approached the bar. "Welcome back, Nesta."

She grinned at the man. "Delvin. Good to see you." She then turned toward the man Elain recognized as Brynjolf who happened to be sitting on a stool nearby. "Heya, handsome."

He chuckled and smiled at Nesta. "You're a sight for sore eyes," he commented. He then nodded at Elain and greeted her by name. "Who are your friends?"

"This is my sister Aerenwen, and this is Aela," Nesta introduced. "Ladies, this is Brynjolf."

"Good to meet you ladies," he commented with a friendly smile. "This may be a first, having Companions present in our humble Flagon. What brings you to the Ratway?"

"We're looking for someone," Aerenwen replied.

"An old man named Esbern," Nesta added. "I think he may be the one that pays the gutter folks to bring him food."

Brynjolf nodded. "Could be," he replied. "You're not the first to come looking for him lately. We had some unusual guests just a few hours ago. Be careful, Nes."

It was no surprise to Elain that the Thalmor had beaten them there. They'd wasted a lot of time waiting for Delphine to make up her mind, and in her opinion, if they were going to look for the man, they should have struck off as soon as they'd returned from Solitude. But this wasn't her battle. She was just along for the ride.

"We didn't give them any help," Brynjolf added, "but they went into the sewers anyway. The man you're looking for is holed up somewhere in the Warrens. This lad over here may be of more help. He's been asking for you."

They followed the direction of his nod to see the man they had rescued from the Thalmor sitting at a table.

"He's been here for a few days," Brynjolf explained. "Won't talk to anyone but you, Nes. But I recognize him as one who used to deliver food to the old man."

"Etienne," Aerenwen supplied. "He was captured and tortured by the Thalmor for information. We freed him and told him to come back here and tell you I'd sent him."

Nesta nodded. She approached the man, and Elain watched as she spoke quietly with him for a few moments, handing over a bit of coin after the discussion and giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Give him an introductory job," Nesta stated when she had returned to Brynjolf's side. "See if he's got what it takes to be one of us."

Brynjolf nodded, and Delvin glanced in almost comical surprise between Nesta and the outsiders amongst them.

"Relax, Del," she said with a roll of her eyes. "There is little about me my sisters don't know, and they're trustworthy. Elain is the one who helped us in Windhelm, and Aerenwen may be the Harbinger of the Companions, but she's not going to cause any trouble for us. She may be of some help when we hit Whiterun this month, in fact, and besides. She's the Dragonborn."

Delvin frowned but nodded after glancing at Brynjolf and seeing that he was not at all disturbed by her sisters being present for Guild talk.

A blonde woman approached then, smirking slightly at Nesta, her blue eyes raking over those accompanying her. "You know, I've never found Altmer all that attractive, but something about the genes in your family . . ." she teased as she leaned up against the bar.

This woman was attractive and reminded Elain a bit of Astrid, though she was younger and shorter. Her face broke out into the seductive smirk she often where when speaking to women, or men, who caught her eye.

"Well, I initially had a very poor outlook on Nords thanks to a less-than-satisfactory encounter," she said in a low, flirtatious voice, "but I've recently developed a soft spot for beautiful blondes."

The woman laughed heartily and shot Elain a wink. "I'm assuming these are your sisters," she stated with a glance toward Nesta.

"Elain, Aerenwen, Aela, meet Vex," Nesta introduced with a grin.

"As lovely as it is to meet your friends, Nes, and as much as I enjoy watching Elain seduce her next conquest, if the Thalmor have already headed into the Ratway, we can't afford to tarry," Aerenwen informed her sisters.

Nesta nodded, seemingly remembering the reason her sisters were there, and Elain smiled at this Vex. Perhaps the next time her travels brought her to Riften, she'd look the woman up.

"If the elves head out this way with the old man, we'll do what we can to delay them," Brynjolf offered.

Nesta thanked Brynjolf and gave him a quick kiss. Elain smirked. The last time she'd spoken to her sister about Brynjolf, nothing had happened between them. Clearly that had changed.

The Ratway Vaults were located through a door down a hallway from the Flagon. They were dark and damp and smelled of must, rot, and waste. It was not a pleasant place, and Elain couldn't imagine how desperate someone must have to be to resort to living in such conditions.

They traversed the twisting sewers, delving deeper below the city. Most of the people they encountered avoided the women who were obviously seasoned warriors, but a few attempted to engage them and were dispatched quickly. They encountered three Thalmor agents in their path who were a bit harder to take down, but they were still successful.

Aerenwen knocked on the wooden door Etienne had told Nesta about, and a small panel at eye-level slid open, revealing part of the face of an elderly man.

"Who are you?" he called out. "Go away!"

"Are you Esbern?" she asked.

"I don't know who that is!" he replied and immediately slammed the peep-hole shut.

"Esbern, open the door. I'm a friend."

"No, that's not me," came the reply. "I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Delphine sent me!" Aerenwen called out through the door.

"Delphine!" he gasped. "So you've finally found her, and she led you to me. Here I am, caught like a rat in a trap."

"The Thalmor have found you," Aerenwen replied. "You need to get out of here."

"Oh, how reassuring!" the old man bit back sarcastically. "Most likely you're with the Thalmor, and this is just a trick to get me to open the door."

Aerenwen sighed, but her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Where were you on the 30th of Frostfall?"

The peep-hole slid open again. "Delphine is really alive, then?"

Aerenwen nodded.

"Alright. You'd better come in and tell me how you found me and what you want," Esbern replied. "Just a moment. There are several locks here," the man called out. The woman stood waiting, not quite patiently, as they heard several locks on the door disengage before the man finally let them into his room. He closed and locked the door behind them.

Esbern was a balding Nord of advanced age with a full white beard. He wore ragged clothes and looked a bit worse for wear. His room was surprisingly large and, even more surprisingly, rather clean and well-stocked. Books and various objects littered bookshelves, and candles lit the otherwise dark room.

"So Delphine keeps up the fight after all these years," Esbern stated as he crossed his arms and glanced at the group of women he had just allowed into his room. "Her fight is useless. The end is upon us. I may as well die here as anywhere else. I'm tired of running."

"What do you mean the end is upon us?" Aerenwen asked.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" he asked. "What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on? Alduin has returned, just as the prophecy said! The Dragon from the dawn of time who devours the souls of the dead. No one can escape his hunger, neither here nor in the afterlife! Alduin will devour all things, and the world will end. Nothing can stop him. I tried to tell them. They wouldn't listen. Fools. It's all come true. All I could do was watch our doom approach."

"Alduin," Aerenwen commented with obvious recognition. "He's the dragon who is raising the others."

"Yes!" Esbern replied, his passion for the subject finally overcoming his despair. "You see. You know, but you refuse to understand! It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. Only a Dragonborn can stop him, but no Dragonborn has been known for centuries. It seems the gods have grown tired of us. They've left us to our fate as the plaything of Alduin the World-Eater."

Aerenwen smiled at the old man. "It's not hopeless, Esbern," she stated softly. "I am Dragonborn."

Esbern's eyes widened, and he seemed to stagger back as a physical reaction to the shock of her statement. "What?! You . . . can it really be true? Dragonborn?"

Aerenwen nodded, and when the old man glanced at her sisters and Aela, they nodded as well.

"Then there is hope!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "The gods have not abandoned us! We must . . . we must go quickly now. Take me to Delphine. We have much to discuss."

Aerenwen and Nesta watched as the old man rushed around the room, filling a couple of bags with books and other supplies he considered necessary to take. Elain and Aela stood guard in the doorway, their keen eyes on the darker space beyond the door in case any Thalmor approached.

"You're talking about the literal end of the world?" Aerenwen asked the old man as he packed.

He nodded as he shoved a few books into one of the bags. "Oh yes. It's all been foretold," he replied but offered nothing else.

"Why are the Thalmor so interested in finding you?" she wondered.

"Well, they've been hunting down the Blades since the Great War on general principle," he replied. He stopped a moment to study the contents of another bookshelf, deciding upon two tomes to bring with him. "But if you mean me, now, in particular . . . maybe they've started to get an inkling of what the return of the dragons means. I don't suppose they want the world to end any more than we do, or at least, they'd prefer it to end on their terms."

Elain couldn't help but chuckle at that statement. The crazy old man had a point.

"What happened on the 30th of Frostfall?"

"It was a cold day," Esbern replied. He placed one of his bags over his shoulder, and Nesta stepped forward to take the other. "The end of Frostfall is nearly winter in the Jerall Mountains. We heard the news at Cloud Ruler by courier, riding hard from the Imperial City. The 30th of Frostfall, 171. Thirty years ago. The Great War started that day. The Thalmor ambassador gave his ultimatum to Emperor Titus Mede - the heads of every Blades agent within the Aldmeri Dominion. I knew, that day, that it was truly the beginning of the end."

He glanced once more around his room and then nodded at Aerenwen. "Very well, Dragonborn. Let's get moving."

The trip out of the Ratway had been a bit more treacherous than the trip in. The place was overrun with Thalmor agents who the group had to battle at nearly every turn. They made their way to the Flagon and breathed a sigh of relief. The Thalmor wouldn't act against them there. There would be too many witnesses.

Nesta then led the others of the sewer and into her home. She introduced them to her housecarl whom she commanded keep watch for any Thalmor who may be roaming the city. Though they didn't think they had been followed, one could never be too certain.

Esbern rested in Nesta's bed while the sisters and Aela chatted quietly around the hearth. After hiding out for years, the old man, though a skilled mage and once a talented warrior, lacked the stamina he'd once had, and just the journey through the tunnels had taken a lot out of him. They would let him rest until nightfall and then travel in the direction of Riverwood under the cover of darkness.

"This is some deep stuff you're dealing with," Nesta commented, studying Aerenwen. "You okay?"

Aerenwen sighed and shrugged. "I knew the return of the dragons was big and had to mean something. I knew being Dragonborn meant that everyone was counting on me to take care of the dragons, but I had no idea this was some huge, world-ending event. It's overwhelming."

"We're here, Ren," Elain promised at the same time Aela took her hand. "You're not alone in this."


	22. A Woman Scorned

Chapter Four: A Woman Scorned (Morndas/Tirdas/Middas, Tenth/Eleventh/Twelfth of Frostfall)

The journey to Riverwood took much longer than it should have. Nesta remained behind in Riften, and the rest did their best to stay off the roads. Though agents of the Thalmor were not generally seen wandering the roads of The Rift, being that it was a Stormcloak Hold, and they would be attacked by soldiers on sight, with them being in Riften and probably now realizing the women had reached Esbern first, they felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

They camped overnight in Ivarstead. The innkeeper remembered Aerenwen and Aela from their previous visit and connection with Nesta and agreed to keep their visit discreet and alert them if any Thalmor were seen around the town.

When they finally entered The Sleeping Giant, all four of them breathed a sigh of relief, and Delphine stared in shock from where she stood sweeping by the fire.

"Esbern," she nearly whispered.

"Delphine!" he gasped, rushing toward his old commrade. "It's good to see you. It's been . . . a long time."

The woman nodded and smiled. "It's good to see you, too, Esbern. It's been too long, old friend." She leaned her broom against the wall nearby and nodded toward the door to her bedroom. "I'm glad you made it safe and sound. Come. I have a place we can talk."

Esbern nodded and followed Delphine toward her basement war room as she barked out orders for Orgnar to keep watch of the place. Aerenwen followed, and unlike in the past, Aela and Elain did as well. They were in this, too, now, after all, and they weren't about to leave her side if there was any way they could help.

"Now then," Delphine stated as she took her usual spot leaned against the planning table. "I assume you know about . . ." she trailed off but nodded toward Aerenwen.

"Oh yes! Dragonborn!" Esbern replied with a wide smile. "Indeed, yes. This changes everything, of course. There's no time to lose. We must locate . . ." he trailed off as he dug through the bag he was carrying. "Let me show you." He continued searching. "I know I had it here somewhere."

"Esbern, what . . .?" Delphine started to ask, but he interrupted her.

"Give me just a moment," he stated. Finally, he pulled a book from the bag. "Ah! Here it is. Come, let me show you." He placed the book down on the table and thumbed through it, finally landing on a map of some sort. "You see, right here. Sky Haven Temple, constructed around one of the main Akaviri military camps in the Reach, during their conquest of Skyrim."

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Delphine asked with a glance toward Aerenwen.

The Dragonborn shook her head.

"Sssh!" Esbern ordered. "This is where they built Alduin's Wall to set down in stone all their accumulated dragonlore. A hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries. A wise and foresighted policy in the event. Despite the far-reaching fame of Alduin's Wall at the time - one of the wonders of the ancient world - its location was lost."

"Esbern, what are you getting at?" Delphine asked. Her tone showed her frustration at the old scholar's rambling.

"You mean . . you don't mean to say you haven't heard of Alduin's Wall?" he asked, a mixture of shock and disgust. "Either of you?"

"Let's pretend we haven't," Delphine answered with a sigh. "What's Alduin's Wall and what does it have to do with stopping the dragons?"

"Alduin's Wall was where the ancient Blades recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return," Esbern explained. "Part history, part prophecy. Its location has been lost for centuries, but I've found it again. Not lost, you see, just forgotten. The Blades archives held so many secrets. I was only able to save a few scraps."

"So you think Alduin's Wall will tell us how to defeat Alduin?" Delphine confirmed.

"Well, yes," the old man answered with a nod of his head, "but there's no guarantee, of course."

"Sky Haven temple it is, then," Delphine declared. "I knew you'd have something for us, Esbern. How do we get there?"

"That's the part I'm not entirely certain of," he replied. "I need to spend some time comparing this old map with contemporary maps of the Reach. Hopefully, within a few days' time, I will have determined its location."

"Do you have any questions?" Delphine asked Aerenwen. She shot a glance at her companions, clearly displeased by their presence but chose not to say anything about it.

Aerenwen shook her head. "It seems to me that any questions I ask at the moment result in answers that just lead to more questions. I will let Esbern determine the location of this Sky Haven Temple and see what exactly we find there before I decide if there's anything further I need to know."

Delphine nodded. "Very well. Meet us back here in a week's time, and we will hopefully know how to reach the temple by then. Be prepared to travel. If we've determined its location, we'll leave as soon as you arrive. Keep your eyes on the sky, Dragonborn."

* * *

Elain parted ways with her sister and Aela the following day, leaving Meeko in their care in Whiterun. It sounded like the next several days would be slow in terms of the Dragonborn business, and she figured she'd put off the contract for the Dark Brotherhood long enough.

It was growing late when she arrived in Markarth, late enough that the Hag's Cure, the apothecary shop where she'd been told her contact worked, would be closed, so she wandered toward the Temple of Dibella instead. If Astrid had a husband, there was no reason Elain needed to remain faithful to the other woman during their affair after all.

Senna had been thrilled at Elain's arrival and unwilling to share her with the other priestesses who were present. They practiced the Dibellan arts well into the morning hours, and Elain actually found herself a bit sore as she made her way toward the apothecary shop after being hand-fed breakfast by the irresistible priestess.

An old woman with a painted face stood behind the counter at the Hag's Cure and was conversing with a young woman who appeared to be her assistant. Elain observed a moment until she determined which was Muiri, and it was apparently the younger Breton.

"May I help you?" Muiri asked. Elain had waited until the old woman had gone to the back of the store before stepping out of the shadows in the entryway.

"The Dark Brotherhood has come, Muiri," she replied.

"The Dark Brotherhood!" the young woman gasped. "Oh! I . . . my goodness, you're really here!" She spoke in an excited whisper and glanced behind her to make certain her employer wasn't within earshot. "The Black Sacrament actually worked?"

"Obviously," Elain replied, raising a single dark eyebrow at the woman. "Now tell me what you need."

"What I need is for Alain Dufont to die," Muiri barked. Then, as if realizing she couldn't be so loud, lowered her voice again. "I want him hunted down and murdered like the dog he is!"

Elain sighed. So this was the case of a scorned woman. Why did the reasons behind their killings always seem so petty? Maybe it was because of her family's history with the Thalmor and Aerenwen's dealings with the dragons, but it seemed like there were much more dire things to worry about in the world than petty squabbles and broken hearts. "I'm going to need more to go on than that," she told Muiri.

The other woman apparently took that as a cue to go into her past with the man rather than telling Elain where to find him because she delved deep into a tale of heartbreak. Apparently, unbeknownst to Muiri when she started a relationship with the man, Alain Dufont was the leader of a group of bandits camped in the dwarven ruin, Raldbthar, not far from Windhelm. She wanted Elain to kill this man but didn't care what happened to the rest of the bandits. She figured she'd probably end up taking them all out if she could. Less competition for her sister's organization that way.

"It will be done," Elain promised.

"Excellent," Muiri replied with a gleeful smile. "Once Alain is dead, I'll pay you in gold. I've saved up a bit, and I hope it's enough." She looked unsure of herself suddenly. "Um, well, there is one more thing. If you're interested?"

"I'm listening," Elain replied, wondering what else this woman could want from her.

"If you can, I want you to kill someone else as well," Muiri explained. "You don't have to. It's not part of the deal and isn't why I performed the Black Sacrament, but if you do, I'll pay you even more. It's Nilsene Shatter-Shield of Windhelm. If Nilsine dies, too, I'll make it worth your while."

Now Elain wasn't certain about that. Nilsine wasn't part of the contract, after all, and Elain knew of her. It was one thing to kill a stranger or a person who had done horrible things, but entirely another to kill an acquaintance who, from all that Elain knew of her, was a decent human being. Not to mention, her mother had already lost one daughter to The Butcher. Elain didn't want to be responsible for forcing a mother to bury another one of her children.

Apparently, the Shatter-Shields were old, dear friends of Muiri, and she had gone to stay with them in Windhelm during their time of mourning after Friga's murder. Elain wondered if she'd ever passed this woman on the street. While there, Muiri met Alain Dufont at the tavern, and he won her heart with sweet nothings and promises of forever. Evidently, it was all an act on his part, and he was in Windhelm to befriend the Shatter-Shields in their grief in order to rob from them, and he used Muiri to get close to the grieving family. When this was discovered, the Shatter-Shields took their anger out on Muiri for her role in it and severed ties with her. Because of Alain Dufont, she'd lost her dearest friends.

Something about it still didn't make sense to Elain, however. "I understand your reasons for wishing Alain dead, and as I said, it will be done," she stated, "but I'm confused. Why have Nilsine killed? She was your friend."

"The family refuses to believe my innocence!" Muiri replied, sounding more like a petulant child than the woman she was. "It doesn't matter what I say. They refuse to see that I was used and didn't know Alain's true intentions. I was like a daughter to Tova, and she just turned her back on me because of him. Maybe with Nilsine dead, with both of her daughters gone, she'll realize what she lost with me. Maybe then she'll see that I was just as much a daughter as the others, and if not, may she drown in her own tears!"

"I'll see what I can do," Elain stated, though she had no intention of killing Nilsine. That was not a good enough reason for taking a life, in her opinion, and it wasn't a part of the contract, so it would have no impact upon her standing in the Brotherhood. If Muiri had performed the Black Sacrament for Nilsine rather than Alain, it would be a different story. Elain would have to kill the young woman then, but she wasn't going to bring more grief to Clan Shatter-Shield if she didn't have to.


	23. Whispers in the Dark

Chapter Five: Whispers in the Dark (Fridas/Loredas/Sundas/Morndas/Tirdas, 14th/15th/16th/17th/18th of Sun's Dusk)

Raldbthar was located in the mountains between Windhelm and Whiterun, and Elain found it fairly easily thanks to some help from the innkeeper at a roadside inn nearby. Without him pinpointing the exact location on her map, she didn't know how long she would have wandered in the blinding snow squal.

There were three bandits outside the entrance to the ruins when she arrived, and her attack caused confusion thanks to the low visibility in the weather. She had them all dead rather quickly and proceeded inside.

Elain had never been inside Dwemer ruins before, and she found them extremely intriguing, but she didn't have to delve too deep within them before she found where the bandits had made camp. She stealthily approached one, standing away from the others to keep guard over the entrance corridor and held her dagger to his throat, placing her hand firmly over his mouth.

"Which one is Alain Dufont?" she whispered in his ear. "If you don't tell me, I'll slit your throat." Of course she was going to slit his throat if he did tell her, too, but she left that part out. She wanted to make sure that her target was there and not away from the hideout. The frightened bandit raised his hand and pointed to the man sitting next to the fire, and Elain ran her blade across his jugular. The rest of the bandits went down with arrows from the shadows, but Alain she approached.

Again, she placed her knife to his neck and covered his mouth. "The Dark Brotherhood has come, Alain," she whispered just before she slit his throat.

Afterward, although she would have liked to take the time to explore the ruins more thoroughly to find out what was hidden in their depths, she wished to get this whole business taken care of. She looted through the bandit's stolen goods and then left Raldbthar, making her way through the snow back toward the road in the direction of Markarth.

* * *

Muiri was thrilled the contract had been completed and paid Elain as promised, though she did state her disappointment that Nilsine was still alive. Elain chose not to comment on that and simply took her payment and left.

Back at the Sanctuary, Astrid greeted her as she descended the stairs into the main cavern.

"My little ravens tell me you handled yourself quite well," she stated with a satisfied smile. "Now, come with me, I need your help with a matter of a more personal nature."

Elain smirked and followed Astrid back up the stairs where the blonde pushed her against the table with the map and had her way with her.

Later, the two women sat alone at the dining table, the other members of the odd family either out on contracts or elsewhere within the sanctuary. Astrid looked lost in disturbing thoughts, and Elain decided to address it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

The older woman sighed. "It's Cicero," she stated. "Ever since he arrived, his behavior has been . . . well, erratic would be an understatement. I do believe he's truly mad, Elain, but it's worse than that. He's taken to locking himself in the Night Mother's chamber and talking to someone in hushed, frantic tones. Who is he speaking with? What are they planning? I fear treachery."

Elain knew they had made the empty room near the sleeping quarters into a room for the Night Mother with Cicero's own quarters adjoining it. "Don't you think it's possible that he's talking to himself?" she questioned. "I mean, you said yourself, he's mad, Astrid."

The leader frowned. "He sounds like he's talking to someone, Elain," she insisted. "I know it isn't you because, well, you haven't been here much, and when you have been, you're usually with me. I need to know if one of our own is plotting with Cicero against me."

"Honestly, Astrid, you sound a bit paranoid," Elain stated honestly.

Astrid smirked at this. "Maybe so, but healthy paranoia has saved this sanctuary before, and my gut is telling me that demented little fool is up to something. If Cicero is turning any of the others against me, our family would not survive such a division."

Elain sighed. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Sneak into the chamber and eavesdrop on their next meeting," Astrid ordered. "It will be no use sticking to the shadows. We shadow dwellers can't hide from each other. You'll need to find a hiding place where they'd never think to look."

"I'm assuming you have someplace in mind," Elain commented with a raised brow.

Astrid nodded. "The Night Mother's coffin."

Elain held back a groan at that. This did not seem like a good idea, but she feared if she didn't do it, Astrid would do something even more stupid. "What exactly do you think he's plotting, Astrid?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" the blonde replied. "As the Night Mother's Keeper, he thinks he's entitled to the rule of this sanctuary. He's already pushing for us to revert to the old ways of the order and claiming we're undisciplined, heretical even. He wants the sanctuary for himself. Ironically, the Night Mother could prove to be just as much a victim - the queen in a fool's twisted game of chess."

"Can you think of anyone amongst us who may be conspiring with him?"

Astrid shook her head. "Just the thought of it breaks my heart."

Elain sighed and stood. She may as well get this over with.

"Good luck, Elain. I'll be keeping watch from outside the chambers."

* * *

Elain was uncomfortable. She was closed in a coffin pressed against a cadaver, and she did not like this situation one bit. The dark had always been her friend. Small spaces had never bothered her, but for the first time in her life, she felt claustrophobic. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long before she heard the door to the chamber close, and Cicero's voice came muffled through the coffin.

"Are you alone? Yes, alone. Sweet solitude. No one will hear us, disturb us. Everything is going according to plan." No one answered him, but the jester kept talking. "The others, I've spoken to them, and they're coming around, I know it. The wizard, Festus Krex, perhaps even the Argonian and the un-child. What about you? Have you spoken to anyone?" It was silent, and again, no response ever came. "No, of course not. I do the talking, the stalking, the seeing, and the saying, and what do you do? Nothing! Not that I'm angry," he immediately apologized. "No, never angry! Cicero understands and obeys. You will talk when you're ready, won't you, sweet Night Mother?"

The fool wasn't talking with anyone, Elain realized then. Well, he wasn't talking with anyone alive. He was holding entire one-sided conversations with the dead Night Mother who she was currently pressed against inside a coffin.

"Poor Cicero." Elain startled. There was a voice, a woman's voice, low and rough, haunting. She realized, almost immediately, that the voice was coming from inside the coffin with her. No, not just inside the coffin. Inside her own head. "Dear Cicero. Such a humble servant, but he will never hear my voice for he is not the Listener."

Elain peered at the corpse she knew was in front of her, but the darkness didn't allow her to see anything. What the actual fuck was going on?

"How can I defend you?" She could still hear Cicero talking to himself outside of the coffin. "How can I exert your will if you will not speak? To anyone!"

"Oh, but I will speak," the voice stated. "I will speak to you for you are the one. Yes, you who shares my iron tomb, who warms my ancient bones." Was the Night Mother actually talking to Elain? "I give you this task. Journey to Volunruud. Speak with Amaund Motierre."

"Poor Cicero has failed you," the jester sobbed. "Poor Cicero is sorry, sweet mother. I've tried so very hard, but I just can't find the Listener!"

Am I the Listener? Elain thought to herself.

"Tell Cicero the time has come," the voice, possibly the Night Mother, told her. "Tell him the words he has been waiting to hear for all these years. Tell him darkness rises when silence dies."

Just then, before Elain even had the chance to wrap her mind around what had just happened, the coffin swung open, causing her to tumble out onto the floor. Cicero stood over her and looked furious.

"Defiler! What treachery!" he cried out. "Debaser and defiler! You have violated the sanctity of the Night Mother's coffin! Explain yourself!"

Astrid came plowing through the door then and took in the scene. Elain glanced nervously between the two and realized Cicero was still waiting for a reason for her to have been in the coffin.

"The Night Mother spoke to me," she stated, still not really believing it herself.

"She spoke to you?" Cicero asked, appearing shocked. The shock quickly turned to anger. "More trickery and deceit! You lie! The Night Mother only speaks to the Listener, and there is no Listener!"

Cicero made to strike her, and Astrid advanced toward them as Elain held up her arm to block the jester's attack.

"Wait!" Elain exclaimed. "She said to tell you darkness rises when silence dies."

The jester froze at those words. "She said that? She said those words . . . to you?"

Elain nodded.

"Those are the words," Cicero said and let out a gleeful laugh. "The Binding Words written in the Keeping Tomes - the signal, so I would know. Mother's only way of talking to sweet Cicero." He looked at Elain with wide eyes and grinned at her. "It's true! She is back! Our Lady is back! She has chosen a Listener! She has chosen you! All hail the Listener!"

Astrid grabbed Elain by the arm and pulled her to the feet and from the room as the crazy jester laughed and danced around the Night Mother's coffin.

"Are you all right?" she asked when they'd reached the hallway. "When I heard Cicero screaming, I knew you had been discovered. I feared the worst."

"I'm fine," Elain replied, glancing back into the room where the jester still danced.

"What in Sithis' name is going on?" the blonde asked. "Who was he talking to?"

"The Night Mother," Elain replied. "He was alone in the room, and he holds conversations with her, but she never speaks to him."

"But she spoke to you?" Astrid asked, her disbelief obvious. Elain thought she could see some hurt in the woman's blue eyes as well, as if just the thought of Elain confirming this was a betrayal.

But Elain wouldn't lie. If she truly was the Listener, she was going to admit it. "It all happened so fast, but yes, I believe the Night Mother spoke to me. She said I was the one."

"So Cicero wasn't speaking to anyone aside from the Night Mother," Astrid repeated, "who, according to everything we know, will only speak to the person chosen as the Listener, and she just spoke, right now, to you?"

Elain nodded.

"By Sithis," Astrid muttered. "And what did she say?"

"She said I must speak to someone named Amaund Motierre in Volunruud."

"I don't know who that is, but I have heard of Volunruud and know where it is," Astrid replied.

Cicero came skipping out of the room then, chanting, "All hail the Listener!" Elain thought he could show a bit more discretion considering the circumstances.

"By Sithis, this ends now!" Astrid barked. "Back away, fool. I've had enough of your lunacy."

Cicero simply grinned in response as he skipped down the stairs. "The Night Mother has spoken! The silence has been broken! The Listener has been chosen! All hail the Listener!"

Elain watched him go and then turned back toward Astrid who was watching her with a calculating expression. "So, should I go to Volunruud and talk to this man?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "No! Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but you take orders from me. Are we clear on that?"

Elain nodded, a feeling of dread as she watched this woman she had grown to care about spiral into her own form of lunacy. She was terrified of losing her position in the sanctuary and wasn't going to let anyone, not even the Night Mother, take it from her.

"The Night Mother may have spoken to you, Elain, but I am the leader of this family. I will not have my authority so easily dismissed." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I need time to think about all this. Go see Nazir. Do some work for him. I'll find you when I'm ready to discuss the matter further."

Elain nodded again and watched the woman storm away. She had no clue what was going to happen, but it was clear that everything had just changed. She sighed to herself and decided that rather than pick up a new contract from Nazir, she would just head home and give Astrid some space. Whatever happened, she had a good guess that her affair with the Nord was over.


	24. Mzulft

Chapter Four: Mzulft (Fridas/Loredas, the 21st/22nd of Sun's Dusk)

Elain had experienced a rather uneventful week in comparison to the way she had been spending her time lately. Although she hadn't intended upon getting another contract from Nazir, she had run into the Redguard on her way out of the sanctuary and received one anyway.

The contract had taken her just outside Solitude to where a ship, The Red Wave, was docked at the headquarters of the East Empire Company. Safia was a Redguard pirate, and although she'd seemed spunky from a distance, she hadn't seen Elain coming.

She'd stopped in Whiterun to pick up Meeko, finding that her sister was away and spent a night in the company of Lydia and Hamish and had been in Windhelm ever since.

Elain knew she couldn't put off returning to the sanctuary for too long. She needed to tell Nazir that she had completed the contract and needed to address all this Listener business.

Even if Astrid wanted to pretend things weren't changing, they clearly were. Someone had definitely spoken to Elain when she was in that coffin, and she could only assume it was the Night Mother. She was skeptical about such things, and if it hadn't happened to her, she would have been the first to doubt that the Night Mother had spoken. Yet it had happened to her, and there was apparently a man in Volunruud waiting for her. She'd done enough research to determine that it was a Nordic ruin to the north of Whiterun. Part of her wanted to strike off on her own and see what she would find, but she also didn't necessarily want to be on Astrid's bad side. Ultimately, she decided she'd give the woman a little bit of time to sort through her thoughts on the subject before pressing the issue further.

That was why she happened to still be at home when her sister arrived.

Mari was . . . well, to say that she was stressed would have been putting it mildly. The younger Altmer had a lot going on with the discovery that had been made beneath Saarthal. Apparently, while she was retrieving the books with her sisters, the mages had moved the mysterious orb out of the ruin and into the college itself. She'd been visited by their uncle Quaranir, a Psijic monk, who warned her of disaster to come and spoken with some mysterious magical entity, whose existence Elain didn't entirely comprehend. This Augur, she had referred to him as, told her she needed to find some ancient, powerful staff. It just so happened that not long ago members of the Synod, a council of mages from the Imperial province, had shown up at the college looking for that exact staff, and Mari was now headed to a Dwarven ruin to the south in hopes to find out if they had discovered where it was located.

Mari, of course, had never really been one for adventure, and all of the happenings at the College since her arrival were beginning to take their toll. Elain was sure her sister wanted nothing more than to be able to curl up in the College's library and teach herself some new spells, but the College, the Psijics, and it seemed possibly all of Tamriel, were counting on her. She wasn't equiped to go delving into an old Dwemer city on her own, however, so she had stopped in Windhelm to appeal for Elain's assistance.

After an evening spent in the Grey Quarter, drinking with the friendly Dunmer residents while Mari flirted with her sailor, the sisters set out south, following the road toward Riften out of the snowy hills around Windhelm and into a warmer climate. The road skirted the edge of the volcanic tundra along the base of the mountain range that separated Skyrim from the province of Morrowind.

They arrived at the entrance of Mzulft around mid-afternoon, and knew they were in the right place by the large stone arches that surrounded a stairwell climbing up into the mountain. Up and up they went until they reached a building that extended outward from the stone side of a cliff. A bronze door lay there, and they were easily able to push it open.

Inside, a room was filled with steaming pipes, and the clanking of machinery filled the air. Elain immediately spotted a robed monk leaning against one of the pipes. The front of his robe was covered in blood. Mari knelt beside the man. Elain felt certain he was dead and was surprised to hear his weak voice speak to her sister.

"Crystal gone," the man muttered. "Find Paratus in Oculatory." After getting those few words out, he fell back against the wall, and Mari felt for his pulse.

"He's dead," Mari stated, turning toward her sister.

"So we find this Paratus then? Figure out what crystal is gone?" Elain wondered.

"I guess," Mari replied. "I mean, none of that has anything to do with why I'm here, I don't think. But it's a place to start. I'm gathering this man was with the Synod."

Elain nodded and pushed at the door which didn't budge. "Well, search him for a key. We're not getting any further without one. This is locked."

Mari found a key as well as a journal of some sort on the man. Seeing how hesitant her sister was to go through his belongings, Elain was quick to grab the book and thumb through it, not having the level of respect for the dead man's privacy that her sister possessed.

"He was sent here from the Synod with something he referred to as a focusing crystal," Elain stated after a few moments of reading. "It was apparently important for whatever they are doing here, and he was supposed to get to the Oculatory, whatever that is, right away."

Mari nodded as she twisted the key in the locked door. It swung open.

"We can assume that whoever, or whatever, killed him also took this crystal and that they're still in there," her sister continued as they passed through the doorway. "Be quiet and be careful."

Again, Mari nodded. Elain loved her sister, she really did, and she was happy to help, but she found herself wishing they had recruited Aerenwen or Nesta, or both, for this venture. Having another person who was confident walking into dangerous situations would have made her feel better about keeping her sister safe. The fact that Mari was terrified was obvious.

Mzulft was fascinating, just as the previous Dwemer ruin Elain had visited was. Somehow the machines still worked. Pumps and turbines rotated around them as they traveled, and they were attacked by spider-looking machines and metal spheres from which warriors arose. The deeper they delved, the darker and more rancid the atmosphere became, and they encountered Falmer, the twisted, blind descendants of the snow elves. Elain was used to disappearing into the shadows, and though Mari wasn't quite so effective at this, she was able to use a spell she knew to muffle any sounds she may make, and they were able to get passed the majority of them without their keen ears picking up the intruders' presence.

A Falmer mage, or whatever it was they called their equivalent, put up quite the fight, but between Elain's arrows and Mari's magic, they were able to take him down. Afterward, Elain bent over his corpse, looting it.

"You think this is the crystal that guy lost?" she asked Mari, holding up what she had found.

Mari shrugged. "Could be. Better hang onto it just in case."

Elain nodded and tucked it into her satchel. It was quite heavy, but it was best to hang onto it. Perhaps it would be a bargaining chip if and when they found the rest of the Synod.

Finally, they reached another locked door, and Mari groaned and banged her head against it. Elain looked around for another way through, but it seemed they were stuck. Just then, a voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Just a moment, Gavros!" the man's voice called out. "I'll let you in."

The door swung open, and Elain stuck her bow through the opening before the shocked man could slam it shut in their faces.

"Who are you?" he asked in a panic. "Where is Gavros? What are you doing here? What have you done with Gavros?"

"I'm assuming your friend Gavros is the one we found dying near the entrance to this ruin," Elain replied, shoving the door open. The mage backed up with wide eyes.

"It was the Falmer, wasn't it?" he asked, his tone sad. "Curse them! They've ruined everything! If Gavros is gone, there's no hope. He was supposed to return with the crystal, and without that, all our efforts are wasted. If you're here for treasure or wisdom or anything, I'm afraid you've wasted your time as well."

"We're here looking for the Synod," Mari stated.

"And just why would you be doing that?" the man wondered. "Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter now. Gavros is never coming back, and he was supposed to have the crystal. It's all been for nothing, so congratulations, whoever you are, you've found the Synod. Just me, alone, surrounded by angry machines and angrier Falmer." The man leaned against the wall and slid toward the floor with his head in his hands.

Elain and Mari exchanged a glance.

"What's this about a crystal?" Elain asked.

The man didn't remove his hands, and they struggled to hear his muffled words. "It didn't work the first time. I tried to tell Gavros, but he wouldn't listen. Said it wouldn't be too cold. Well, I was right, wasn't I? Focused completely wrong by the time we got here! The cold had warped it! Gavros had to cart it all the way back to Cyrodiil. Left the rest of us here to fend off the damnable Falmer."

"What is it that you're doing here?" Mari asked.

"I am on official business of the Grand Council of the Synod," the man replied, finally looking up at them again. "That's all you need to know. I might as well ask the same of you, running around by yourself in this dangerous place."

"We're looking for the Staff of Magnus," Mari told him. "I'm from the College of Winterhold."

The man let out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle. "Savos wouldn't even grant us an audience when we came to you, but now you come here expecting my help? Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn't. I need the crystal to do anything useful."

"If we find this crystal you're looking for, will you help us?" Elain asked.

"If you can actually find the crystal, of course. I'd certainly be grateful," he replied, "but there's no telling what those beasts have done with it."

Elain smirked slightly and reached into her satchel, pulling out the crystal she had found. "This crystal?"

The man was immediately on his feet with widened eyes. He let out a gleeful laugh and waved the women forward down the corridor. "With the Falmer skulking about, I can't very well do this on my own. Come with me, come with me! I'll explain on the way."

Mari and Elain followed.

"No matter what Gavros said, this was my idea first," the man stated, his voice chipper now, completely different from the defeated man they had just encountered. "The Council is going to know that when I get back. I was the one who thought of using this Oculory. I don't know what the dwarves called it. Something unpronouncable, I'm sure."

They entered a massive room with a high, domed ceiling and began climbing a ramp that circled the outer edge of it.

"From all our research, it seems they were intent on discerning the nature of the divine. This machinery, all of it, was designed to collect starlight and then, I'm not sure really, split it, somehow?"

As they reached a landing on the ramp, a large sphere of several gold beams could be seen in the center of the room. Elain had never seen anything like it and couldn't help but think of how much Glenys would have enjoyed this discovery.

"It was my idea to replace one of the key elements with our focusing crystal," the man continued. "Months of enchantments went into it. Let's just hope they got it right this time. Magnificent, isn't it? Took an incredible amount of work to get it running again. Now I'm hoping it will all be worth it." He nodded toward Elain. "Place the crystal in the central apparatus, and we can start the process for focusing it."

At Mari's nod of encouragement, Elain stepped forward and placed the crystal on a small platform just below the sphere.

"Glenys should be here for this," she whispered when she returned to her side.

Mari nodded in agreement.

The man had climbed further up the ramp to a higher landing and was looking down over them. "Now the crystal needs to be focused," he called down to them. "It was created so far away, we knew that some adjustments would have to be made. Heating and cooling the crystal will cause it to expand or contract, which will change how the light passes through it. You'll need to use spells to do that. Being from the College," he said with a glance toward Mari, "I assume you know them already."

Mari nodded and fired off a few blasts of fire and ice at the crystal in random successions until something seemed to happen and the beams of the sphere began to spin.

"Years of work finally going to pay off," the man said gleefully as he returned to the level where they stood and began studying the wall where there was a map of Tamriel drawn. The sphere stopped spinning and a few spots of light appeared in locations on the map. "What's this? These results . . . they're not at all what they should be. This projection should be lit up like the night sky. Something is creating an incredible amount of interference. Something in Winterhold it looks like. What are you playing at?" he turned toward Mari, eyes narrowed. "Is this some attempt to stall my work?"

"Of course not," Mari stated, glancing nervously at Elain. "I have no idea what this is even supposed to do or what you're hoping to accomplish."

The man advanced upon her, refusing to listen. "What have you done? Are you here to make sure your plan worked, that our efforts have been for nothing? Explain yourself!"

Elain stepped forward and placed herself between the enraged man and her sister. "You'd better calm down," she warned.

"Her and her College have ruined years of my work!" he exclaimed. "I've lost colleagues and friends to the Falmer, and you want me to calm down?"

"We have no idea what you're talking about," Elain pressed.

"You show up here, just as our work nears completion, and now I can't get any results from this," he argued. "Do you think me a fool? Do you think I'm too stupid to make the connection? How did you do it?"

"I haven't done anything, I swear," Elain heard Mari say from behind her.

"It must be something you're doing," the man stated, though he seemed to be calming down and listening to reason. "There's no other explanation. Either you're lying to me, or . . ." He trailed off and turned back to the map.

"Perhaps if you tell us what went wrong, we can help you determine what could have caused it," Mari suggested.

"This should be lit up brighter than the night sky, and it's not," he explained. "If you haven't knowingly interfered, than you have something at your College, don't you? Something immensely powerful. Beyond anything I'd anticipated. What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Mari lied, though Elain had no doubt it was the orb they had found in Saarthal. "I'm simply an Apprentice and was tasked with locating the Staff of Magnus. I don't know a lot of what goes on at the College."

The man seemed to believe her. "I can't explain the details," he stated after a moment. "That would be giving away many secrets the Synod have learned over the years, and I doubt you'd be able to comprehend the details, anyway. Have you ever seen the Orrery in the Imperial City?"

Both Elain and Mari shook their heads.

"It was the inspiration for my idea," he continued. "Instead of projecting the sky, we project all of Tamriel, and then harness the latent energies to overlay the positions of . . . well, what's important is that all of this work was designed to reveal to us sources of great magical power. Purely to help safeguard the Empire, of course." That set Elain on edge a bit. After all, she had plenty of experience with a group taking every opportunity they had to advance their power. To her, this sounded like the Synod, or the Empire, whoever was calling the shots, was gathering all the powerful relics for their own use. "In the end, only two locations have been revealed to us. One is your College. The other," he pointed toward a spot that appeared to be west of Whiterun but not quite to Solitude, "well, that can only be Labyrinthian."

"So the Staff of Magnus is in Labyrinthian?" Mari asked. It was clear to Elain that her sister was trying to change the subject from the fact that the College's discovery had just been revealed, but she doubted the other mage would forget so easily.

"Well, yes," the man answered, seemingly surprised by the question. "Probably. I mean, yes. Certainly it is, but that doesn't matter now because I know you're hoarding something even more important at your College. The Council will be informed of this. They will find out what it is you're up to."

This man needed to go. They had received the information they had gone there for, and now he was just in the way. Whatever it was that Mari had found in Saarthal did not need to end up in the hands of a power hungry group. Elain stood behind him and raised a single brow toward her sister as she quietly drew her dagger. Mari looked hesitant, but she sighed and nodded discreetly before turning away.

The mage didn't even see it coming as Elain reached from behind him and slit his throat. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Grab that crystal," she ordered her sister. "If you don't want news of this discovery getting out, we need to make sure this thing doesn't work if any more of them come along."

Mari nodded and pocketed the crystal, following Elain back down the corridor they entered through. They'd only reached halfway to the door when an apparition of a Psijic appeared in front of them.

Elain gasped. She had believed her sister, of course, when she'd said that Psijics had appeared to her, but to see it for herself was something else entirely. She was familiar with the process. Her own mother had often communicated with her that way when she was away from home, but it was odd to see someone else doing it.

The mage cast a small smile at Mari. "You have done well thus far, Mariwen," he stated, "but trying times are ahead. It is imperative that you return to your college at once. You will be called on to take swift action. Rise to the challenge and discover what you are capable of. You are on the right path, and you will prevail."

Just as suddenly as he had appeared, he disappeared.

"By Akatosh, that startled me," Elain admitted with a self-conscious chuckle.

Mari smirked at her. "I've got to learn to do that."

"What now?" Elain asked as they made their way back down the mountain toward the road.

"I go back to the College and tell them that the staff is in this Labyrinthian, whatever that is," Mari replied. "I imagine they'll send a team to retrieve it."

Elain nodded. Her brain was full of dragons and talking corpses and glowing orbs, and she hated that it seemed her family was handed one trial after another ever since they'd been forced to leave their home.


	25. Another Adventure Awaits

Chapter Six: Another Adventure Awaits (Turdas/Fridas, the 27th/28th of Sun's Dusk)

Elain had spent several days at home with Meeko. She'd relieved her housecarl of his duties for a time, preferring solitude over his presence looming over her. She was bored, and she knew it was time to return to the Sanctuary. She'd put it off, and as overwhelmed as she was by all the Night Mother business, she had left Astrid alone with her thoughts long enough.

She had just decided she would strike off in the morning for Whiterun to see how her sister was progressing with the dragon business and offer her help before traveling to Falkreath Hold when there was a knock on the door. She was surprised when she opened it to reveal Mari, once again, though this time she was accompanied by another mage, a young Dunmer woman.

"I'm surprised to see you again so soon," she told her sister as she watched the other two women remove their cloaks and snow-covered boots. "I figured you'd be dealing with this Eye stuff."

Mari sighed and collapsed into a chair. "Oh I am. That's why I'm here," she explained. "I need to ask for you help again. We're off to Labyrinthian. This is my friend and fellow Apprentice, Brelyna Maryon. Bre, my sister, Elain."

"Pleasure to meet you," the Dunmer commented, studying the other Altmer.

"You as well," Elain replied. "Of course I'll help you. What is this place we're headed to?"

"All I know is what Brelyna has told me," her sister replied, motioning for her friend to tell the story.

"The Arch-Mage Shalidor built a labyrinth deep within a set of Nordic ruins located there," Brelyna supplied. "He used it as a test for potential arch-mages to determine their worth, and it is supposedly littered with magical traps and what not. Draugr and other beasties. Folks even claim it's haunted. I'm told people avoid the road traveling near it at all costs and take the long road around to Morthal."

Elain nodded, taking in the information.

"I'm coming along so that Mari has some backup with magical knowledge, but I suggested she get as much muscle as she could for this trip," Brelyna continued. "This is a dangerous venture, much more so than anything either of us have undertaken before."

Elain and Mari exchanged a glance, both thinking about their previous undertakings against the Thalmor and weren't quite convinced, but they agreed it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Rest up then," Elain stated as she stood. "We'll head off to Whiterun tomorrow and recruit some Companions."

"Will Aerenwen be at home?" Mari asked.

"I'm not certain," her sister replied. "I helped her in Riften, and last I knew, the old scholar we found there was trying to figure out just where some temple was located. Apparently the return of the dragons means Alduin has returned, and it's going to be the end of the world if our dear sister doesn't stop it. He seemed to think the answer was in the temple, and it sounded like they thought it was out in The Reach, but she could be back home by now. If not, I wouldn't be surprised if we could talk Farkas at least into joining us, and definitely Aela if she's around."

Mari nodded. It sounded to Elain like they could use all the help they could get.

* * *

Lydia answered their sister's door with a smile and directed the group toward Jorrvaskr. Partway there, they were accosted by a small Nord boy who rushed toward them with shrieks of "Aunty Elain! Aunty Mari!"

Both women laughed and lifted him into hugs, placing soft kisses atop his head before he ran off to play with his friends some more.

They found Aela and Aerenwen in the mead hall, and after being greeted exuberantly by all who knew them, were led down to the Harbinger's office where they could speak privately.

Mari made introductions, and the group sat down. As it turned out, they were lucky they had arrived when they had. The two women had only just returned from The Reach the night before and were planning to strike off for High Hrothgar the following morning, looking for answers as to how the ancient Nords defeated Alduin.

"What's going on, Mari?" Aerenwen asked. "You look as exhausted and overwhelmed as I am. Is it more with this discovery you made in Saarthal?"

Mari sighed and went into the story, explaining to her sister that when she had returned to the College, they had brought the Eye up from the ruins and placed it right in the main hall. She told her about discussions with their uncle and the Augur and of the trip she and Elain had taken to Mzulft. Finally, she reached the part in her tale where the Thalmor were once again the problem and told her of the Arch-Mage's death.

"Where is that you need to go to retrieve this staff?" Aerenwen asked when she was finished.

"Labyrinthian," Mari replied.

Aela looked startled at that news.

"What is the history of that place?" she asked curiously. "Brelyna only knows the magical portion of it in more recent times, that Arch-Mage Shalidor built a labyrinth within some Nordic ruins."

"It was originally built as a temple to the dragons ages ago when the dragons ruled Skyrim," the huntress explained. "It grew over time into a great city and was Skyrim's capital when the Dragon Cult held the most power. Bromjunaar, it was called. All of the most powerful dragon priests would gather there to meet, and it is said that powerful relics of theirs are still hidden within the ruins.

"After the Dragon War, it was abandoned. Ages later, this arch-mage you spoke of, Shalidor, built his labyrinth deep within the ruins of Bromjunaar, and it became known as Labyrinthian. Some say he built his labyrinth to hide powerful relics he had stolen, but, as your friend told you, he began to use it to test out the abilities of mages. The tests were brutal, and eventually, it was deemed too barbaric and again, fell into disuse." Aela sighed. "Before the Oblivion Crisis, from what I've read, people would make pilgrimages to Labyrinthian in part of a journey that followed the Eternal Champion's steps. Now people generally avoid the place. It's cursed."

Elain chuckled. "Sounds like just the place we'll all feel right at home."

Mari frowned. "I hate this. I hate every minute of it. I wasn't built for adventure like you guys. I want my books and my alchemy table and my spells. I don't get off on dungeon delving like you two and Nesta."

Aerenwen wrapped an arm around her smaller sister. "I don't like what I have been called to do or the responsibility put upon my shoulders either, Mari, but it's ours. We were brought to Skyrim and followed the paths we have for a reason. This is your story and your battle, but we will be with you every step of the way."

Mari shook her head. "I can't ask you to do that. You need to head to High Hrothgar and find out what this shout is you need to learn. You're in the process of saving the world."

"So are you," Aerenwen argued. "That Eye, or whatever it is, that was found is extremely powerful. If it cannot be contained within the College, who knows what will happen to the rest of Tamriel? Not to mention, right now, it's in the hands of one Thalmor. Where will we be if it falls into the hands of them all? As far as I'm concerned, this battle is just as worthy as the one I am fighting. I will help you, just as I know you would help me should I come across a need for magicka in my quest."

Mari smiled and rested her head on her elder sister's shoulder.

"Besides, it's an ancient Nord ruin," Elain interjected. "There's apt to be a word wall in there. You'll get to see the cool thing that happens when our sister learns a new shout."

This made Mari smile a bit.

"And as linked as Bromjunaar was with the Dragon Cult, perhaps we'll find some useful information there in reference to all this dragon business," Aela added.

Mari sighed and nodded against her sister's shoulder, and Elain was glad she was accepting their help. The business with the Night Mother and the dragons could wait, as far as she was concerned. Her sisters came first.

 **Author's Note: This is the end of this portion of Elain's story. I will be updating Glenys' next.**


End file.
